Re: CITES bashing
Chris Marsden (100620.2156@CompuServe.COM)
07 Apr 96 10:48:06 EDT
Hi all,
I am not actually interested in CITES bashing, and I know the
best
efforts of conservation are to keep adult wild populations of plants
alive and happy, but still if there are hundreds of thousands of
Triphyophyllum peltatum alive all over the world, it isn't exactly
likely that the species will ever become extinct. Equally, the VFT will
never become extinct in the real sense of the word while all of us are
growing at least on specimen. I know that some species of Paphiopedilum
orchid are nearly extinct in the wild due to overcollection but this is
mostly due to the fact that they have never really recovered from the
vast collecting that went on in the 19th and very early 20th century,
when fine specimens of Paph were prized at 1000 guineas a peice! All I
know is that CITES is a pain in the neck as far as exchanging plants
goes. At 20 quid a permit the CITES people cannot expect enthusiasts to
actually want to exchange plants and help the cultivated distribution of
the species. And here in the UK at least, you have to go before a CITES
comittee to find out whether the CITES people think you really need a
permit. Needless to say, many people are turned down. Oh yes, I do
agree with your opinions, Wayne (even if you have been hitting the small
white pills rather a lot lately ;-) )
Toby