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"Diana Kulaga" wrote in message
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Peruvian grower gets 21 months for smuggling rare orchids

Associated Press

The dealer, George W. Norris of Spring, Texas, also has pleaded guilty
and
faces sentencing Sept. 2. The investigation was based on a tip about
Norris
offering endangered species for sale on the Internet.

Arias, 70, was one of three Peruvian growers with permission to
cultivate
endangered and newly discovered orchids from recently deforested areas.
He
apologized in a letter to the judge asking for mercy and noting his
"sincere" conservation efforts.

The Peruvian lady slippers, known as "phrags" in collecting circles, are
considered seriously endangered in the wild and are protected by
international treaty. Nursery-raised varieties can be exported with
government permits.

Murray, originally from Surrinam, was an officer in the orchid society
I belonged to in Alabama. He was so bitter about the loss of habitat,
thus the loss of orchids in that area. When the forest is cleared and
developed the orchids are gone also. He found no problem with
harvesting the rare and protected orchids when faced with eminent
destruction of habitat.

One concern he had about re-introduction of the plants into other
areas was the displaced plants acceptance and adaptation to the new
habitat (would the transplanted orchids even survive) and the impact
any new arrivals would have in spontaneous hybridation with the
original orchids in the new area if they did survive and bloom. In
this situation the original orchids would be lost and subsequent
orchids effected by the relocation.

Don't get me wrong, he and I are against harvesting or even picking
the flowers in devoted and protected areas. These would be equivalent
to our wildlife refuges, state, and national parks to name a few.

The damage original collectors did while harvesting, collection or
destruction of entire colonies of species for the purpose of price
manipulation to limit availability is a good part of what caused the
necessary protections. Now with the loss of habitat the protections
should be redefined and expanded in a way that will protect the
orchids in/from an area where the habitat has become unviable for
their survival. That may make supporting documentation more
complicated, name of plant, harvested under permit from specified
area, name of permit holder, and date to name a few, if that
information is not currently required.

Was the "crime" motivated by a sincere desire to get the endangered
species into areas where they could possibly be propagated and
protected or greed?

BTW, this is personal opinion, I won't go on a "field trip" to collect
or buy any collected plants. I am a hobbiest would probably kill them
anyway, be unable to contribute to the survival or propagation of any
of the orchids in question. Naive as I am, I have seen the impact
urbanization, herbicides, insecticides, and deforestation have on
local areas.

The crime was motivated by greed.

K Barrett