Eric Hunt wrote:
Nick,

Interesting points - but the one thing that kept popping up in my head:

Do *YOU* want the same "take-no-prisoners war-on-drugs" federal enforcement
officers knocking down your doors and trashing your greenhouse because
someone "reported" you as having some of these banned plants you are
advocating?

One further thought... One could, I think, beef up CITES enforcement
without ever going anywhere near private greenhouses. A lot of
smuggling is probably Norris-style false labeling. Suppose only plants
in bloom were allowed to be shipped internationally and inspections at
ports of entry were beefed up? That would make it much more difficult
to import plants and would suck for people who make their living that
way, but it would also make it much more difficult to smuggle wild
plants.

But, my main purpose in commenting in this thread is not to suggest
specific enforcement methods. Rather, I wanted to comment on the idea
that CITES has been an unmitigated disaster for slipper orchids. I
think that to the extent that CITES has restricted international trade,
it has encouraged domestic flasking. Where smuggling wild plants still
exists, it will not be hindered by weakening CITES. CITES regulation
does not seriously hinder our ability to grow orchids. You could stop
all international trade tomorrow, and places like Fox Valley could
still produce most species in the genera Paphiopedilum and
Phragmipedium. CITES only really affects our ability to obtain a small
handfull of new species, and the amount of moaning by orchidists is
seriously out of proportion to its affect on us..

Nick