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Letter To The Editor: Respect the iguana
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I am horrified. One of the reasons I have always been so proud to live here is the great respect that I thought we had for those who were here before us.
I knew that there was a decision to deplete the number of iguanas on the island, which I never understood, although I am not afraid of reptiles. I did not understand that they would be frozen to death.
With all of the uninhabited land, I am not sure why these majestic creatures cannot be moved somewhere else without executing them. I happen to live on a canal, I have a seawall, a boat and a dock. I do not have a problem with excrement, and I am not afraid of the iguanas. They move when you head in their direction and we do not have encounters.
I enjoy photographing them and find them to be regal and elegant. My heart aches to know that more than one of these pre-historic creatures has been annihilated in any manner, let alone death by freezing. Shame on all of you who support the killing of any animal for any reason. In a place that so carefully protects owls, turtles, manatees, dolphins and the like, I cannot believe the hypocrisy of putting an animal to death because they poop on your boat.
So what is the point, that we love God’s creatures until they get too close for comfort? I hope that the dolphins don’t ever become too friendly.
Angela Herring
Marco Island
Comments
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Dear Angela,
Please Google , ( Boca Grande iguana ) and maybe you'll get a better understanding of why something has to be done.
This is helping protect the owls , turtles, birds and other egg laying animals.
#1 Posted by OldMarcoMan on November 18, 2008 at 5:01 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Not to mention they are not indigenous to Southwest Florida, they were let go by people that had them as pets and didn't want them, now they are an infestation.
#2 Posted by happyonmarco on November 18, 2008 at 5:49 p.m. (Suggest removal)
angela...this is kinda' like having hamsters, rabbits or mice as pets...when you get tired of them you turn them loose....then they propogate and cause damage to the native habitat....this is no different than having rat poison for the norway rats we have on the island that are indigenous to a degree and the removal of a boa constrictor that someone decided to turn loose that is not indigenous....and besides..."it doesn't hurt".
#3 Posted by van on November 18, 2008 at 10:13 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Rats have rights too!!! We need to be more politically correct towards our fury and scaly brothers. If we don't stand up for the vermin, who will? Let's relocate all the cockroaches too. Every living thing has a right to live, Right?
#4 Posted by yes on November 19, 2008 at 11:50 a.m. (Suggest removal)
WRONG!!!
#5 Posted by van on November 19, 2008 at 9:25 p.m. (Suggest removal)
As an animal lover my whole life,an Iguana enthusiast for the past 15 years I have to agree with both sides. Yes i think it is awfully cruel to have them freeze dried like chicken and duck. I think that there are many other options for the Iguana, just another story of the lack of funding.
On the other side, I HAVE seen a chicken processing plant and there are no words for that, good bad or nothing at all..just..wow. I don't have Iguana's in my yard per say, but my father does. And he too used to enjoy Iguana's, until he had a wild one in his yard. It destroyed garden of rare and exotic plants. Washing the feces off took paint off the dock.
So, with sharing that- here is MY opinion. I think what bothered me the most, was not the killing, and freezing humanely, not the plant eating dock ruining..what bothers me, is how these beautiful and ancient creatures, were so valiantly photographed in the paper, as they are after all our ancient dragons from myth. And below it, it's fate typed in ink.
Not once, but twice!! The Eagle and the ETC. Have some tact! There's writing a gruesome story..and then there's writing a gruesome story and adding picture's to rectify.
#6 Posted by CatVayne on November 29, 2008 at 2:17 a.m. (Suggest removal)
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