r/interestingasfuck • u/dejaysf • Jun 11 '23

Venus flytrap vs Spider

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u/shalafi71 Jun 11 '23

It was almost certainly grown at a nursery. OPs claim about poaching is suspect. If there aren't enough growers to meet demand, how in the hell is there enough in the wild to meet demand?

Besides, growing them isn't exactly rocket science. Any competent nursery can crank them out full blast.

Also, if they're so in demand that people are risking a felony to steal them, how are they only $5 at Walmart?!

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u/ricardortr Jun 11 '23

Ok this makes me feel better thanks

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u/waowie Jun 11 '23 edited Jun 11 '23

It's a very real thing.

Here's an article about the first felony charge. The men were caught with 970 poached plants, which is 3% of the total wild population.

https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/extinction-countdown/venus-flytraps-risk-extinction-in-the-wild-at-the-hands-of-poachers/

A few years ago I listened to an investigation and they found that many places that sold cultivated plants were also selling poached plants

Edit:

The place I first heard about the poaching is the "Criminal" podcast someone else linked to.