About 200,000 of the reptiles are believed to be in the island’s southern and central areas, which are heavily dependent on farming, according to Chiu Kuo-hao of the Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency.
Specially recruited hunting teams killed about 70,000 iguanas last year, with bounties of up to $US15 ($A24) each.
Local governments have asked the public to help identify iguana nests and they recommend fishing spears as the most humane means of killing the animals.
“A lot of people bought them as cute little pets, not realising how big and long-lived they would become, so they set them free in the wild, where they’ve really taken to the Taiwanese environment,” said Lee Chi-ya, of the agricultural department in the southern county of Pingtung.
“That’s allowed them to reproduce at a considerable rate, necessitating us to cull them and restore the balance of nature.”
Green iguanas have no natural predators in Taiwan and have moved into areas that can be difficult to access, mostly forests and the edges of towns.
Males can grow to 60cm long, weigh 5kg and live up to 20 years, while females can lay up to 80 eggs at a time.
Mainly native to Central America and the Caribbean, they are not aggressive despite possessing sharp tails and jaws and razor-like teeth.
The reptiles subsist on a diet of mostly fruit, leaves and plants, with the occasional small animal thrown in.
Although popular as pets, they are difficult to keep healthy in captivity and many die within a year.
Hsu Wei-chieh, secretary general of the Reptile Conservation Association of Taiwan, said his group wants to teach farmers how to stay safe, protect their property and treat the iguanas in a humane manner.
“We’re here to help see that this project is carried out smoothly,” Hsu said.
Tsai Po-wen, a vegetable farmer in Pingtung, said the training was paying off.
“We used to attack them but it wasn’t any use. Now we’re learning more effective, safer methods,” Tsai said.
UK farmers rally against tax
Farmers have gathered at protests across the United Kingdom as they step up their campaign against government inheritance tax reforms — which they say would “decimate” the country’s agricultural sector.
The National Farmers Union staged a so-called national day of unity on January 25, with farmers bringing food, tractors and livestock to town centres across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
The events follow National Farmers Union representatives handing a petition signed by 270,000 people to 10 Downing St on January 24.
It urged the government to ditch what they described as the “devastating family farm tax”.
Rachel Hallos, a livestock farmer and the vice-president of the union, said she hoped the events would “raise awareness” of the impact of the planned reforms.
“The inheritance tax changes from the budget will ultimately decimate what we’ve currently got in this country,” she said.
In Northern Ireland, seven protest runs took place across six counties, organised by the Ulster Farmers Union, including two in County Down.
Lines of tractors arrived at the site of the former Maze Prison bearing posters which read “save our family farms”.
Union chief executive Wesley Aston said the new rules the government is proposing on inheritance tax will mean huge bills for the next generation of farmers, which will risk the viability of family farms in the future.
A government spokesperson said it had a strong commitment to farmers citing a £5 billion ($A9.9 billion) investment in farming over the next two years — the largest budget for sustainable food production in the country’s history.
“We are going further with reforms to boost profits for farmers by backing British produce and reforming planning rules on farms to support food production,” the spokesperson said.
The spokesperson said estates will pay a reduced effective inheritance tax rate of 20 per cent, rather than standard 40 per cent, and payments can be spread over 10 years, interest-free.
“This is a fair and balanced approach,” they said.
