DAVIE, FLA. (WSVN) - An alarming case of animal abuse is drawing concern from residents in a Davie neighborhood, after they found several iguanas shot with arrows.
Area resident Pamela Baggleman said she’s determined to find out who has been targeting the reptiles. “We see iguanas with arrows sticking through their throats or in their heads,” she said, “and they’re not dying, they’re suffering.”
Baggleman said she used to enjoy seeing the animals romp around in the grass as she had her morning coffee.
But now she watches as they walk around with arrows sticking out of their bodies. “Terribly cruel. It’s terribly, terribly cruel,” she said.
Baggleman said she and fellow resident Helle Ruud have been trying to end the abuse for almost a year.
“They’re making these animals suffer,” she said. “If they hit them in the throat, they can’t eat, they can’t drink. The worst part is we watch them jump into the water, and the arrow that I have here gets caught in the weeds, and they drown.”
This all comes on the heels of other recent abuse cases in South Florida involving animals like cats and peacocks.
The Davie residents have called the police and Florida wildlife services, but that hasn’t stopped this person from targeting the iguanas.
Now they are offering a $500 reward for anyone who can help catch the shooter.
“I don’t particularly like the iguanas, but I also don’t want to see them suffering,” said Ruud.
They’re also worried that this person will move on from iguanas and start aiming for neighborhood pets. “It must be a very disturbed person, capable of doing that,” said Ruud.
“The benefit, I think, is just that they’re an animal. They’re very beautiful, They’re very pretty. I like them. I’m sure a lot of other people like them. but I’m sure a lot of people don’t, either,” said Baggleman, “but that’s not a reason to kill them.”
The women suspect the person shooting the iguanas lives in their neighborhood.
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