Notes from central Taiwan: The invasive onslaught
Only long-term cultural change will curb the entrance of aggressive foreign species
By Michael Turton
When I visited John Lamorie’s eco-farm in Pingtung a few weeks ago, the first thing I saw when I stepped out of his car was an iguana running along the ditch that borders his property. “It’s been hanging around there for weeks,” he said. “Can’t get rid of him.”
An invasive species from an exotic land that looks like a monster (the 1998 Godzilla film hints that Godzilla is a mutated iguana), iguanas have been in the spotlight for a year now, with a spate of articles highlighting their growing presence in southern Taiwan. The government banned their import in 2015, and 15,000 were killed in Taiwan last year, over 8,000 in Pingtung alone.