The Ministry of the Environment has warned the population not to buy green iguanas that are currently being sold on the streets as a pet. The Ministry of Environment Biodiversity Director, José Manuel Mateo, said that the reptile has been introduced to different habitats where there are native and endemic species and they are competing for food, threatening populations of endemic and native species. In addition, the iguana can potentially transmit diseases to humans.
If anyone has information about green iguanas or have sited one, they are asked to call 809.567.4300/809.539.6400/809.200.6400 or tweet or message AmbienteRD.
In addition Mateo called on tourists not to take up the offer to be photographed with the iguana and warned that they could transmit bacteria, viruses and fungal infections.
The green iguana was brought to the country a few years ago and is reproducing rapidly. It orginates in Central American countries, such as El Salvador, Guatemala and Costa Rica.
The green iguana is also a scourge in Florida. The Sun Sentinel newspaper has reported that the green iguanas have been considered mostly harmless because they eat plants instead of animals. But the newspaper explains that their burrows undermine seawalls, sidewalks and levees, and they eat their way through valuable landscaping as well as native plants. The newspaper reports that the droppings of the iguana can be a significant cleanup problem and a potential source of salmonella bacteria that causes food poisoning.
Read more:
El Dia
Sun Sentinel
26 June 2018
