The importation of all species of iguana into Thailand has been banned, effective last Friday, after many green iguanas have been sighted roaming free in the wild, especially in Phatthana Nikhom district of Lop Buri province.

Atthaphon Charoenchansa, director-general of the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation, signed the edict last Friday.

The edict states that many iguanas have been sighted in the wild in Lop Buri and their numbers have increased rapidly, which may threaten the environment, the ecological system and farmland.

No permits will be granted for the import of any iguanas, to control the population in the country, until there is a change in the situation, according to the edict.

Last week, the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation urged members of the public who have iguanas in their possession to notify the department. 53 people in over 30 provinces declared that they own 640 iguanas.

Officials from the department have also been sent to areas where sightings of the reptiles have been reported, such as Ban Dung district in Udon Thani and Phatthana Nikhom district in Lop Buri, to catch them, to prevent them from propagating. Iguanas were also sighted in the Sripong housing estate in Bang Na district of Bangkok.

Three, each between 1 and 1.5 metres long, were caught in Phatthana Nikhom district in Lop Buri, last week.

Iguanas are a protected species under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Fauna and Flora (CITES).