Posted on 02/18/2026 4:22:29 AM PST by DFG
It was a hiss and a miss.
A Florida pizzeria is facing backlash for adding iguana pizza to their menu while a cold snap in the Sunshine State stunned the invasive reptiles, causing them to fall from trees.
Bucks Coal Fired Pizza in North Palm Beach will stop offering iguana as a pizza topping after receiving a slew of complaints to the Health Department, according to local10.
The restaurant put out a viral video with tens of thousands of likes earlier this month, showing pieces of the large lizards being tossed onto cheesy dough and thrown into a pizza oven.
“My buddy hit me up and was like, how do you feel about me bringing in some iguana meat and making iguana pizza? I said, absolutely,” owner Frankie Cecere told the outlet.
The viral idea came about when iguanas across the state were falling from trees as temperatures plummeted. This happens to the reptiles because they are cold-blooded and become paralyzed to conserve energy.
Despite the polarizing menu choice, the pizzeria received “about 1,500 calls for iguana pizza,” Cecere said.
“It’s highly sought after apparently,” the owner added.
Bucks Coal Fired Pizza will now stop offering the topping due to complaints to the Health Department and concerns over animal cruelty.
“People called in saying we had live iguanas in house, like an animal cruelty issue,” Cecere said. “We don’t have live iguanas here.”
“I thought it would fall under catch and cook,” he added.
The pizzeria is now working through regulatory questions about serving the iguana meat, the outlet said.
“You don’t need a license to harvest iguanas because they’re an invasive species, but apparently, there’s no statute for it,” Cecere said.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
Dear FRiends,
We need your continuing support to keep FR funded. Your donations are our sole source of funding. No sugar daddies, no advertisers, no paid memberships, no commercial sales, no gimmicks, no tax subsidies. No spam, no pop-ups, no ad trackers.
If you enjoy using FR and agree it's a worthwhile endeavor, please consider making a contribution today:
Click here: to donate by Credit Card
Or here: to donate by PayPal
Or by mail to: Free Republic, LLC - PO Box 9771 - Fresno, CA 93794
Thank you very much and God bless you,
Jim
What’s the big deal? If iguanas weren’t meant to be eaten, they wouldn’t be made of meat.
After the cold weather in South Florida about a week or 10 days ago, Iguanas were literally falling out of the trees by the hundreds, they are an invasive species in South Florida, they undermine the shorelines of canals and can tear up golf courses, the supply of Iguana meat was in abundance.
If you want to see how they hunt Iguanas in normal times, look up the Python Hunter on YouTube.
He gets paid by the State to hunt pythons and by private businesses to get iguanas off the golf courses and other places.
He uses a dog to retrieve the iguanas after he shoots them with an Air Rifle, he’s got a pretty neat setup with the air rifle.
If you are totally interested, he will take customers on python and iguana hunts.
I had some alligator last week. Not sure I’d like it on pizza but I’d certainly try it.
Tastes kinda like spotted owl.
Chicken of the tree.
Post of the day!
Treat it like anchovies. If you don’t like it, don’t order it. People complain about too many trivial things in life.
What’s the big deal?
They’re an invasive species that needs to be eradicated. Do it while the cold is knocking them out.
And why waste meat?
Personally, I’d pass but whatever flats your boat.....
This young woman does a YouTube channel leveraged off of a pest removal business. It helps that she is not unattractive.
Iguana Sniper / Iguana Solutions
https://www.youtube.com/@iguanaSnipers/videos
The complainer was undoubtedly a leftist. The iguanas are alien invaders who are usurping the space of native born creatures, therefore they must be protected at all costs.
Ha! I just noticed she has one titled The Great Iguana Defrost of 2026.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKTE1ET_lc8
Clever!! 😅😅
they are cold-blooded and become paralyzed to conserve energy.
Technically not dead, therefore not road kill....
Animal lover crazies.
a few on FR BTW.
You get an A++ for marketing, lol!
I think the nancies that reported him are scared of health problems from un-checked (usda) meat.
Ask any boa you happen to see
What’s the best chicken, chicken of the tree.
Any meat for resale, must be USDA inspected.
This entails the animal being alive before being processed.
When I take a deer for processing, it has “expired”. Then the proceeds will state Not For Resale on the product.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.