Govt introduces ban on iguana imports as numbers soar

Government spokesperson Chai Wacharonke said on Tuesday that the ban was announced in the latest amendment to the Ministry of Natural Resource and Environment’s regulation on animals permitted for import.

The amendment, dated November 17, stipulates that the import of all reptiles in the iguanidae family, a category 1 protected animal under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), is illegal in Thailand until further notice.

The ban came after the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation last week reported a surge in the number of green iguanas in the Khao Phra Ya Dern Thong community in Phatthana Nikhom district of Lopburi province.

The reptiles have been damaging crops and plants, posing challenges to residents in cultivating vegetables and sustaining their…