They're pesky... invasive... at the core of Florida's latest statewide debate.
Credit: Jesse Scott
South Florida just wrapped up one of its strangest cold-weather chapters in recent memory. After the region experienced its coldest temperatures since 2010, thousands of green iguanas — an invasive species in Florida — were left cold-stunned, immobile and scattered across neighborhoods, canals and backyards. The result: a short-term statewide collection effort that has since reignited a familiar and deeply polarizing debate.
On January 30, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission issued Executive Order 26-03, temporarily allowing residents to collect live, cold-stunned green iguanas without a permit and transport them directly to designated FWC locations for humane euthanasia or transfer to permitted handlers. The order applied for just two days, Feb. 1 and Feb. 2, during the peak of the cold snap.
By the time the window closed, more than 5,000 iguanas had been collected statewide. Locally, the Sunrise FWC office alone received 3,882 iguanas, with reports indicating more than 1,000 animals were dropped off there in a single day. Images and videos of frozen iguanas piled into containers — and even fashioned into makeshift “blankets” — quickly spread across social media, drawing reactions ranging from approval to outrage.
Supporters of the effort point to the ecological and economic damage caused by green iguanas, which burrow into seawalls, undermine infrastructure and displace native species. FWC has long classified them as a prohibited invasive species, noting that invasive wildlife management is a priority in a state where more than 600 nonnative species have been reported.
Critics, however, argue that the spectacle crossed an ethical line. A widely shared post in the Pompano Beach Florida Residents Group questioned whether mass collection during a cold stun was humane or necessary, and whether human development and widespread planting of nonnative vegetation bears more responsibility for the problem than the animals themselves. The post alone generated thousands of reactions and comments, underscoring how emotionally charged the issue has become.
FWC maintains that green iguanas are not protected in Florida beyond anti-cruelty laws and that the executive order provided an option for residents unable or unwilling to humanely kill the animals themselves. With the order now expired, standard regulations are back in effect — and the larger question remains unresolved.
As temperatures warm and iguanas inevitably reappear, South Florida is left to reckon with an uncomfortable reality: managing invasive species is rarely simple, and public consensus is even harder to find.
For more information on green iguanas and invasive species management, visit myfwc.com.
