I am inclined to agree - apart from being entirely the wrong time of
year (I'd have thought,) for plundering wild sites to best success,
it surprises me that a Dutch person should bother going all the way
to the US when VFTs are produced so cheaply by the hundreds of
thousands in Holland's TC 'factories' for a few cents each. Compare
the effort of finding and digging up 9000 wild plants to that of hi-
tech TC, or lo-tech buying 9000 seeds for $180 (vide recent CPN ad,)
and waiting a few months for them to produce seedlings. It surely
can't be economic to wild-collect widely (and cheaply,) available
species like this for export?
Of course, it is *possible* that the plants were wild-collected, and
if they were, then he deserves everything he gets, but it does sound
rather unlikely to me(though I suppose the authorities are unlikely
to let the facts get in the way over an opportunity for much self
congratulation and backslapping.)
Technically if I got caught sending VFTs to, say, a friend in Poland,
I would be just as guilty in the eyes of the law - but how the hell am
I supposed to have wild-collected a plant that grows only in the
eastern US when I haven't left the UK in 10 years?
I think it would be more helpful to have regulations that targeted
unscrupulous collectors instead of enthusiasts trying to do their bit
by distributing legitimately propagated material and undermining any
black-market that might exist for endangered species. A good start
might be to implement a workable system of permits, which at the
moment are a *lot* of hassle and expense for casual 'hobby' trading
(though I believe the situation is a little easier in the U.S.)
It seems to me that CITES is a perfect example of what happens when a
thoroughly worthwhile and comendable goal is given to a committee to
implement.
Happy growing,
Peter
snail:Peter Cole,17 Wimmerfield Cr. :mailto:carnivor@bunyip.demon.co.uk
Killay, SWANSEA SA2 7BU, WALES :http://www.angel.co.uk/flytrap/index.htm
vox:+44 1792 205214 :ftp://www.angel.co.uk/pub/flytrap