Department of Environment officials say they are looking to implement a scaled-down and cost-effective version of its green iguana culling programme which has cost more than $7.9 million for the removal of 1.3 million of the invasive species in the past four years.
In a recently posted procurement notice, the DoE said it was looking to shift from its current bounty-style system, where licensed cullers are paid per iguana, to “sub-contracted expert hunting teams” which would be paid for their collective hunting hours per week.
“Hunting teams will be deployed primarily on Grand Cayman but will also operate on Cayman Brac and Little Cayman,” according to the procurement notice. “Each team will consist of licensed air rifle operators with existing track records of safety and effectiveness in the green iguana cull, spotters/noose operators [and] iguana retrievers working alongside.”
The proposed revision comes on the heels of a Flicker Magazine article in which the DoE stated that despite an increase in the per-iguana bounty it was still recording an overall drop in culler interest. The number of registered cullers fell from 320 at the inception of the programme in 2018 to 83 in August 2021.
The DoE says it will be looking to select new cullers with a “proven track record” of effectiveness as it looks to refine its culling practices.
“These activities will seek to reduce the green iguana population on Grand Cayman to 10,000 individuals or less as estimated by DoE’s annual population surveys, and to eradicate them from Cayman Brac and Little Cayman,” wrote the DoE in the notice.
Despite its intentions to shift to a new culling programme, the DoE said existing bounty hunters on Grand Cayman can “continue under present arrangements until they no longer find this financially worthwhile”.
The DoE continued, “There will be no predefined pivot point, with each culler free to make their own decision whether to continue under existing bounty arrangements, to join a contracted team, or to move to alternative employment.”
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With respect payment per hour is not an effective option. Payment per iguana is the smarter solution.
But what about the wild chickens that infest Grand Cayman? Need to cull them too.
There were no wild chickens before Hurricane Ivan when they got loose and have multiplied ever since.