An iguana hunter mistook a pool maintenance worker for an iguana and shot him with a pellet gun in Florida.

E-Lyn Bryan, a Florida homeowner, hired the hunter to take care of the nuisance animals at his property, according to the Boca Raton Police Department.

However, while looking for the lizards, which can grow up to five feet, the hunter apparently mistook a pool maintenance worker for an iguana.

As non-native green iguana populations rise, Floridians have been encouraged to kill the creatures, which threaten native plants and animals, by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Department.

Green iguanas also have sharp claws, teeth, and tails which can be used to inflict harm.

Their faeces contains salmonella bacteria, which causes 1.2 million illnesses and 23,000 hospitalisations a year, according to the Centre of Disease Control.

“I came out to see what they were doing and I heard him scream at the top of his lungs and he had blood coming out of his leg and he was shot by the hunter,” the homeowner told WPTV.

“We have iguanas everywhere. If neighbours are going to be like the Wild West and shoot at everything someone is going to get killed.”

Police and paramedics responded. No charges were filed against the iguana hunter.