Sorry to see you get roasted for being the messenger......
I think many of us want to know if we will get in trouble for sending a few
cultivated plants to our friends. Deep down that is what really upsets the
group as far as I can see. The smuggler probably broke some North Carolina
laws about collecting wild plants and that is reason enough for arresting the
fellow. It's bad enough that we are plowing millions of them under with
bulldozers let alone having someone going around plucking them out of the
earth.
In the Sept 95 issue of ICPS 's Carnivorous Plant News there was an article
about CITES. From reading it, I got the impression that shipping appendix II
plants (VFT) from the US was OK. "Plants listed as Appendix II intended for
importation into the US do not require an import permit but do require an
export permit of the country of origin."
Perhaps the rule is too stringent and needs revision, I see little harm in
sending cuttings or TC of rare cultivated plants to other collectors. I
feel that actually improves the chances of survival of a rare species by
reducing demand on wild populations and that should be encouraged.
If you know of anyone who can clarify this, we'd appreciate hearing about
this.
Thanks again !
Joe Roegner