CAPE CORAL, Fla. — Iguanas are a huge bug in Cape Coral, one that the city and even personal bug control have actually attempted to suppress in a lot of methods throughout the years. But one regional Iguana Hunting Charter business is turning the Iguanas they capture into supper!
From a domestic canal in Cape Coral, equipped with Air Rifles in a boat very little larger than a bath tub, the morning hunt with Lizard Kings rapidly discovered what they were trying to find.
“And the Iguanas, whenever the sun comes out, they’ll come up to the very edge to where they are just barely seen,” said Cameron Kersey from Lizard Kings.
The lizards can typically be discovered early in the early morning, sunning themselves from the branches of overhanging mangroves or the edges of seawalls.
“Not only are we taking them out of the environment and cleaning it up,” Kersey included. “But on top of that, we are actually using them.”
As our guide explained, many canalside property owners don’t mind air rifle hunting on the canals, and it’s simple to see the reason that.
“They’ve got to pay 60 grand out of pocket to be able to put up a new seawall,” Kersey said
All that damage originates from Iguana burrows, which deteriorate the bank and trigger seawalls to collapse. So that suggests every Iguana in the boat is one less burrowing, and to Lizard King owner Danny Post, it’s complimentary meat too, so long as it’s ready properly.
“You gotta bleed them out. Make sure that blood comes out. Because if you don’t bleed them out, they naturally produce salmonella in their body. It’s in their blood, in their feces.” Post said, “It’s definitely one solution! The more people eating it, the less we’ll have a problem with our seawalls falling into the water.”
With a couple of in the bag, and a charcoal grill back on coast, he treated us to lunch, and while the meat was a bit gamey, with some flavoring, it was tasty.
“Other places like that, a lot of places in the Caribbean,” said Post. “They eat them all the time.”
In the United States, you can’t purchase Iguana meat in shops since it’s not FDA-approved, however in this case, it’s very little various than consuming a fish you’ve captured.
‘[Our Clients] They’ll take the meat straight off our hands,” said Post. “And they will take it home, they cook it, they eat it, and they are always coming back for me.”
