Cullers are now earning $10 per large adult iguana weighing more than five pounds, compared to the flat rate of $5 per iguana when the eradication programme first launched.
Under the latest payment arrangement, the cullers also can earn $7 for smaller adults, and hatchlings will fetch $5.
The 2021 breeding season is currently under way and will continue until August, adding impetus to the culling efforts that seek to keep the population from expanding exponentially.
Between 1,000 and 1,400 green iguanas have been delivered each week to the landfill during 2021, according to the Department of Environment, which is spearheading efforts to rid the islands of the invasive species.
As of 1 May, cullers had killed 19,390 iguanas this year.
Since the culling programme began in October 2018, nearly 1.3 million green iguanas have been killed.
The DoE said there are 140 cullers registered to take part in the programme this year, with about 60 being regularly active.
In a recent issue of the DoE magazine Flickr, the department stated, “As is to be expected, as the iguana population is driven down, iguanas become increasingly difficult to find and there is considerable evidence that many of the individuals remaining are now keenly aware of the hunting pressure, making them skittish and wary of human activity.”
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When will the wild chickens be culled? Is the Government going to wait until they become invasive before acting? My yard cannot grow anything and what is there already is uprooted. The department of agriculture say they do not set traps anymore so I’m wondering why not. The problem needs to be dealt with now before it’s out of control like the iguanas! Have some foresight please, be proactive not reactive!