World Press Review; August 1997

WILDLIFE

A booming market for iguana leather has led to the capture and killing of some 2.5 million Argentine iguanas in the last five years. Now Argentina's University of Formosa and a tanners' association have announced a plan to breed iguanas in captivity and release them into the wild. The project is designed to protect the lizard -- and the income that their leather produces in Argentina, the world's leading producer of iguana hides. The leather is prized for shoes and pocketbooks. [Clarín, Buenos Aires]