# Some people are just wrong



## BorisTheSpider (Jul 27, 2016)

http://www.wistv.com/story/32553389/man-gets-prison-for-poaching-nearly-1000-venus-flytraps

Six months isn't long enough IMO . VFT only grow in a very limited area from what I understand and people like this need to have their heads examined .

Reactions: Agree 1


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## Venom1080 (Jul 27, 2016)

moron


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## cold blood (Jul 28, 2016)

Venom1080 said:


> moron


That's an understatement.

Reactions: Agree 1 | Funny 1


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## Thistles (Aug 6, 2016)

Who knows how many he got before he was caught? That scale sounds like something he'd done before.

Reactions: Agree 1 | Funny 1 | Useful 1


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## The Snark (Aug 6, 2016)

Reminds me of taking a hike up Fern Canyon in Humboldt county. Every banana slug I came across had a stick poked through it. Story ended happily when I returned to the parking lot and a State Parks guy was there giving someone a little ticket. $500 per slug. Depredation of animals on state park land without a permit.

Reactions: Like 4 | Funny 1 | Love 1


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## billrogers (Aug 6, 2016)

The Snark said:


> Reminds me of taking a hike up Fern Canyon in Humboldt county. Every banana slug I came across had a stick poked through it. Story ended happily when I returned to the parking lot and a State Parks guy was there giving someone a little ticket. $500 per slug. Depredation of animals on state park land without a permit.


I have the feeling that his bank account was significantly more empty afterward... Those were probably the most expensive slugs he ever bought


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## Geoff Armentrout (Aug 8, 2016)

Of course it had to be someone from North Carolina 

Geoff


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## brolloks (Aug 11, 2016)

This is sad to see, he will most likely be back after his sentence and poach again, or some other buffoon will take his place 

Let's just hope the wildlife officers catch them before they cause irreparable damage


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## Trenor (Aug 12, 2016)

Geoff Armentrout said:


> Of course it had to be someone from North Carolina
> 
> Geoff


Well yeah, since they only grow in NC and SC it's pretty likely it would be someone from here.

We have a lot of carnivorous wild plants here. I've done some photos of the ones by the like over the years. It is a shame to see people harming protected species for profit.

Reactions: Agree 1


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## Pipa (Dec 10, 2016)

Can't you buy venus fly trap plants at Lowe's , Home Depot or Walmart ? I don't understand why the poaching over a $5 plant.


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## Trenor (Dec 10, 2016)

Pipa said:


> Can't you buy venus fly trap plants at Lowe's , Home Depot or Walmart ? I don't understand why the poaching over a $5 plant.


Those are tropical venus fly traps. They can't live here without being kept inside a terrarium. The native fly traps can be planted outside and will thrive there as long as the moisture and soil is right. They are also more hardier then their tropical counterparts. It makes it more likely they will survive especially in my home state.

So a guy can go into the swampy inlets of lakes and marsh then take several hundred. Sale them for 5 bucks a pop (5 X 200 plants = 1000 bucks if all of them sale) at farmers markets as Home Seed Raised and make a decent amount of cash. If they are not caught in the act it's hard to prove they took the plants from the wild. The amount of these species in the wild are dropping so they are on the endangered list.

Reactions: Agree 1 | Informative 1


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## BorisTheSpider (Dec 11, 2016)

Trenor said:


> Those are tropical venus fly traps. They can't live here without being kept inside a terrarium. The native fly traps can be planted outside and will thrive there as long as the moisture and soil is right. They are also more hardier then their tropical counterparts. It makes it more likely they will survive especially in my home state.
> 
> So a guy can go into the swampy inlets of lakes and marsh then take several hundred. Sale them for 5 bucks a pop (5 X 200 plants = 1000 bucks if all of them sale) at farmers markets as Home Seed Raised and make a decent amount of cash. If they are not caught in the act it's hard to prove they took the plants from the wild. The amount of these species in the wild are dropping so they are on the endangered list.


Sad but very true . It's the same reason people still kill for ivory or animal hides or fight dogs and chickens (both very common here in the south) . It's all about the money and if an animal or plant species suffers because of it , too bad . As long as a quick buck can be made then it's all good as far as some are concerned . I am happy to see that many areas are starting to really crack down on this kind of behavior and that more and more felony charges are being handed out but animal cruelty and illegal harvesting are still rampant .


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## sschind (Dec 11, 2016)

Trenor said:


> Those are tropical venus fly traps. They can't live here without being kept inside a terrarium. The native fly traps can be planted outside and will thrive there as long as the moisture and soil is right. They are also more hardier then their tropical counterparts. It makes it more likely they will survive especially in my home state.
> 
> So a guy can go into the swampy inlets of lakes and marsh then take several hundred. Sale them for 5 bucks a pop (5 X 200 plants = 1000 bucks if all of them sale) at farmers markets as Home Seed Raised and make a decent amount of cash. If they are not caught in the act it's hard to prove they took the plants from the wild. The amount of these species in the wild are dropping so they are on the endangered list.


I didn't know there was such a thing as a tropical venus flytrap.  I thought the only species was found only in NC and SC.

A friend of mine bought a bunch of them at Wal Mart for $2.00 each and resold them at a swap for $5.00.


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## Trenor (Dec 11, 2016)

You maybe right. I did some digging and the only place they seem native to is NC & SC. I do know that the ones they sale in my local Lowes has an Imported from Brazil sticker on them. They maybe importing plants grown there to get by the protected plant rules and may still be the same species as the native ones we have here. I can tell you that the plants from Lowes do not do very well even with the same care that the native plants do well with. If this is the result of them being grown from seed in a tropical climate or of the way the are potted and sold I don't know.


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## schmiggle (Dec 12, 2016)

Venus fly traps are native only to coastal swamps in northern SC and southern NC (funny how that works). It sounds to me like those fly traps are going into shock from coming out of a greenhouse or perhaps a greenhouse-like climate (as Brazil has). If they're really imported from Brazil, then they are definitely being grown artificially there (probably from tissue culture or cuttings rather than from seed). How much do you trust that they are actually importing from Brazil, rather than just saying so?

Reactions: Agree 1


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## Trenor (Dec 12, 2016)

schmiggle said:


> Venus fly traps are native only to coastal swamps in northern SC and southern NC (funny how that works). It sounds to me like those fly traps are going into shock from coming out of a greenhouse or perhaps a greenhouse-like climate (as Brazil has). If they're really imported from Brazil, then they are definitely being grown artificially there (probably from tissue culture or cuttings rather than from seed). How much do you trust that they are actually importing from Brazil, rather than just saying so?


I knew in North America they only grew in NC & SC but when I saw the imported tag I thought maybe they grew other places as well. Like a tropical variant. But after looking it doesn't seem like they do.

I image they are being grown in Brazil. with the tropical climate there you could grow them year around without needed a greenhouse. It likely has to do with heavy regulations that they place on the plants here. It being a big chain like that would make me think the suppliers would be checked regularly by the protection agency to insure they are not selling illegal plants.

However, I am just guessing though and do not know if they have ever been audited or not. I agree that if they were raised in the tropics then trying the re-acclimate them to this climate would be harder to do. That would account for the high death rate I have seen with them when they are not grown in a terrarium.


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## The Snark (Dec 12, 2016)

For what it is worth. There is a huge (or more than one) nursery operation in Indonesia that grows them and other exotics. They have various trade deals with other countries allowing them to mass export the plants. In turn, those other countries 'bounce' the plants towards the US and Europe. Needless to say, the plants are usually the novelty ones found in special displays in supermarkets and are usually dead waiting to happen, completely unacclimated.

One way you can often tell if the plant is from these mercenary unscrupulous factory farms is the upper layer of soil is hard. It contains cement or a glue to keep the soil from spilling during transit.

Reactions: Informative 1


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