Pingtung green iguanas are so powerful that they have been removed and private hunters have received more than 10 million in rewards in 8 months

Reward for removing green iguanas: NT$300 per adult iguana and NT$50 per juvenile iguana. (Provided by the Pingtung County Government)

The green iguana hunters among the general public in Pingtung County have shown remarkable effectiveness, with the number of removed iguanas continuing to rise. According to statistics, from January to the end of August this year, a total of NT$10,358,250 worth of convenience store vouchers have been issued as rewards to civilian hunters. The latest "Hunter Leaderboard" shows that the top hunter has changed from a hunter surnamed Liu to one surnamed Li, who has accumulated NT$1,310,350 worth of vouchers over eight months. The hunter surnamed Liu has accumulated NT$1,082,200 and is currently in second place.

Last year, the central government allowed public participation in the removal of invasive green iguanas. Members of the public who completed training could receive rewards for capturing green iguanas: NT$300 for each adult iguana with a snout-vent length of 30 centimeters or more, and NT$50 for each juvenile iguana under 30 centimeters. This year, Pingtung County issued equivalent-value vouchers from three major convenience store chains. By the end of last year, 654 civilian hunters in the county had completed training and were able to join the removal efforts this year. The county government also commissioned professional contractors to carry out the removal work, operating on two fronts.

According to the latest statistics from the Pingtung County Government's Department of Agriculture, from January to the end of August this year, the top three civilian hunters who received the most convenience store vouchers were: the hunter surnamed Li, who captured 3,446 adult iguanas and 5,531 juvenile iguanas, totaling 8,977 iguanas, and received NT$1,310,350 worth of vouchers, taking first place; the hunter surnamed Liu, who captured 3,030 adult iguanas and 3,464 juvenile iguanas, totaling 6,494 iguanas, and received NT$1,082,200 worth of vouchers; and the hunter surnamed Su, who removed 2,030 adult iguanas and 6,911 juvenile iguanas, totaling 8,941 iguanas, accumulating NT$954,550 worth of vouchers.

The Department of Agriculture stated that this year's target is set at 130,000 iguanas, based on last year's removal numbers. In terms of related funding, the central government provided NT$15.27 million, and the county government contributed NT$22,749,336, totaling NT$38,01