Boaters with rifles seen in Cape Coral canal 

On an average day, it’s pretty common to see people fishing or swimming in a canal. One neighbor in Cape Coral saw something unusual in his backyard Friday afternoon.

On Friday, April 26, Gene Fornecker was surprised to see a group of people on a boat pointing rifles in a residential canal.  

“I was putting up curtain rods in my dining room when I was looking out the window to the canal, and I saw a motorboat going by slowly,” said Fornecker. “When I looked closer, I saw every one of them had like a rifle with a scope on it.” 

In those moments, Gene took these pictures of the boaters with their rifles drawn.

“All of a sudden, they all got up, and we’re pointing at something in the bushes, and I didn’t know what was going on,” said Fornecker. “It just seemed kind of odd to me, especially in a residential area.” 

Fornecker reached out to law enforcement with concern for his and his neighbor’s safety. 

“I did call the Cape Coral Police Department, and they said that they were probably iguana hunters and that it was legal for them to do that,” said Fornecker. “I don’t care if it’s an air rifle or not, it can hurt or shoot someone’s eye out, and I don’t want anyone to get hit.”

While there are different variations of animal hunting across the U.S., Florida is known to be the only state where it is legal to hunt iguanas. 

“I don’t have anything against hunting, especially if it’s something that’s not native to the area, but people need to know that these people are legitimate in what they’re doing,” said Fornecker. 

According to state law, iguanas can be hunted using air rifles, pellet guns or non-exploding rimfire firearms that are not considered weapons. 

Green iguanas are not protected in Florida except by anti-cruelty laws and can be humanely killed on private property year-round with landowner permission. Members of the public may also remove and humanely kill iguanas from 32 Commission-managed lands without a license or permit under Executive Order 23-16, according to Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission Convservation. 

WINK News spoke with Aaron Forum, a firearms expert and consultant, to figure out the type of guns the boaters were using. 

“I’m 99% sure these are, in fact, Sig Sauer MCX Virtus PCP air rifles, and if I had to take a guess, I would say they were probably hunting iguanas,” said Forum. “Now that can still be lethal, potentially at close range, so you still have to be careful.” 

Forum says it’s always best to have the right safety equipment when hunting for iguanas. 

“If you’re out there shooting and especially, you know, you can tell they’re very close in proximity with a high-powered pellet rifle or BB gun and that stuff can ricochet,” said Forum. “It’s always best to have on eye protection at that range.”

To learn more about the legality of iguana hunting in Florida, click here.