Plant poachers

[rockm]

A cautionary tale for bonsai material collectors. There are some parallels here for bonsai material taken without permission or permits.

Someone may be watching...fines and public service penalties for stealing plants...
https://www.theguardian.com/environ...-hipster-plants-at-center-of-smuggling-crisis

This kind of bulk poaching for Asian markets has long been a pet peeve of mine. Here in the east, the national forests around my Blue Ridge hometown saw the local bear population crash to almost nothing as poachers from China, Korea--and also local assholes-- set snares and larger brutal bear traps. Bear gall bladders brought thousands of dollars on the black market in China.

 

[Cadillactaste]

Wow...that is sad.

As for the bonsai hobby, I have read where ones take from a state park...admitting it's illegal. Seen one once on a group..."save a tree" from paril from being planted to close to the road. (Took a well trained manicured smaller tree right out of ones yard!) Ballsy for sure...ask or get a permit. There are places with collectable material legally...or ask one to

 

[Hyn Patty]

We were already warned that poaching bears is a serious problem where we are moving to in NC where black bears are normally very plentiful. We'll definitely be posting signs to protect the bears and elk around our land and be vigilant to watch for trespassers. Pretty sad. It's also a concern because if people are willing to poach trees and steal them, what's to keep them from stealing /your/ trees? I have seen a lot of posts where bonsai have been stolen and people have to cable or chain their pots down. It's not /that/ difficult to get material that people need to steal it. Permits can be obtained, often pretty cheaply too, if the effort is made. Or join a native plant society, or stick to buying nursery stock. Doesn't really matter how many times you say it's wrong to do it though, some people still will. Vigilance and awareness however do help!

 

[rockm]

We were already warned that poaching bears is a serious problem where we are moving to in NC where black bears are normally very plentiful. We'll definitely be posting signs to protect the bears and elk around our land and be vigilant to watch for trespassers. Pretty sad. It's also a concern because if people are willing to poach trees and steal them, what's to keep them from stealing /your/ trees? I have seen a lot of posts where bonsai have been stolen and people have to cable or chain their pots down. It's not /that/ difficult to get material that people need to steal it. Permits can be obtained, often pretty cheaply too, if the effort is made. Or join a native plant society, or stick to buying nursery stock. Doesn't really matter how many times you say it's wrong to do it though, some people still will. Vigilance and awareness however do help!

Best way to keep the bonsai in your backyard from being poached is not to tell many people about them and keep them out of the sightline of passers-by. Frightening-looking dogs can also help.

The bear population recovered in my old home town in about a decade after the poaching ring was discovered and prosecuted, fortunately. Now poachers are focused on the local Ginseng plants. Once a local pastime for locals, collecting the plant has become a bulk, high-profit driven enterprise fueled by Asian money (primarily China)
https://snptrust.org/preserve/ginseng-poaching-shenandoah-can-help/
http://www.roanoke.com/business/new...cle_abff68ec-ad7c-503c-aad7-09846861df80.html

 

[Owen Reich]

I have said and continue to say that names of bonsai owners should not be made public, let alone placed next to a bonsai in a show. A pamphlet can be distributed to exhibitors or club members. Many tags even have the city of origin. I understand people want credit and people are proud, but at a minimum, we should all institute this on the local level.

Thieves can “shop” at shows. They can also use fanboy software to locate bonsai based on photo locations on the internet. Don’t even have to leave home to find them. Turning off location services solves that problem.

Trees also disappear during take-down at shows.

 

[just.wing.it]

The whole idea of stealing a bonsai tree is kind of crazy and stupid to me...not just because stealing anything is crazy and stupid, and wrong, but because, what the hell are you going to do with someone else's tree???
You can't display it, or show it to anyone who'd give a damn, because it would be recognized, right??
Maybe you could sell it quickly to an unwitting buyer, but even that seems like a stretch, if we're talking about trees in a show, being stolen during tear down...
I'm sure there are other angles here...but I can't find them.

 

[mcpesq817]

I have said and continue to say that names of bonsai owners should not be made public, let alone placed next to a bonsai in a show. A pamphlet can be distributed to exhibitors or club members. Many tags even have the city of origin. I understand people want credit and people are proud, but at a minimum, we should all institute this on the local level.

I agree 100%. I won't ever show a tree if identifying information is included.

 

[just.wing.it]

I'm sure there are other angles here...but I can't find them.

Maybe ramsome...?

 

[Owen Reich]

The whole idea of stealing a bonsai tree is kind of crazy and stupid to me...not just because stealing anything is crazy and stupid, and wrong, but because, what the hell are you going to do with someone else's tree???
You can't display it, or show it to anyone who'd give a damn, because it would be recognized, right??
Maybe you could sell it quickly to an unwitting buyer, but even that seems like a stretch, if we're talking about trees in a show, being stolen during tear down...
I'm sure there are other angles here...but I can't find them.

Some are stolen by a middleman for someone else. Some are sent abroad. Many die at a thieve’s home. Thankfully, many are recovered.

I’ve had a few stolen. Luckily they had crappy taste. Now I have trail cams and hidden cameras. Anyone caught won’t leave under their own power .

 

[just.wing.it]

Some are stolen by a middleman for someone else. Some are sent abroad. Many die at a thieve’s home. Thankfully, many are recovered.

I’ve had a few stolen. Luckily they had crappy taste. Now I have trail cams and hidden cameras. Anyone caught won’t leave under their own power .

Hmm, I see.
Leaving in a bag, or sorts...?

 

[rockm]

The whole idea of stealing a bonsai tree is kind of crazy and stupid to me...not just because stealing anything is crazy and stupid, and wrong, but because, what the hell are you going to do with someone else's tree???
You can't display it, or show it to anyone who'd give a damn, because it would be recognized, right??
Maybe you could sell it quickly to an unwitting buyer, but even that seems like a stretch, if we're talking about trees in a show, being stolen during tear down...
I'm sure there are other angles here...but I can't find them.

There have been instances of stealing at show takedowns, especially at vendor areas where conditions can be chaotic. Show trees have also been stolen. But I'd be willing to bet instances of knowledgeable bonsai folks stealing another person's show tree are NOT all that common. The most common theft of bonsai is from opportunistic, bonsai-ignorant thieves who take advantage of momentary lax security or give in to the urge to take the trees they see in their neighbor's backyard.

for every "knowledgeable" bonsai theft, I'd argue there are a dozen dimwitted impulse thefts.

https://www.nytimes.com/1978/05/31/...nsai-expertise-a-ring-is-suspected-theft.html

One of the Japanese-gifted needle juniper bonsai at the National Arboretum was stolen years ago (TWICE), taken off its stand and bench in broad daylight. DC police (one of whom was very interested in bonsai) started pushing informants to cough up the thief.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/arch...f17-a665-7d1e049ef5f2/?utm_term=.08cfde01ff60
The first time, the thief returned the tree, placing it in front of the Arb's gate and stealing away. He was later discovered (apparently after police work turned him up) and said he stole it to impress his girlfriend.
The arb also had a Chinese elm stolen
https://www.washingtonpost.com/arch...c5e-b4ba-9442019893b0/?utm_term=.c25a92903224

 

[just.wing.it]

There have been instances of stealing at show takedowns, especially at vendor areas where conditions can be chaotic. Show trees have also been stolen. But I'd be willing to bet instances of knowledgeable bonsai folks stealing another person's show tree are NOT all that common. The most common theft of bonsai is from opportunistic, bonsai-ignorant thieves who take advantage of momentary lax security or give in to the urge to take the trees they see in their neighbor's backyard.

for every "knowledgeable" bonsai theft, I'd argue there are a dozen dimwitted impulse thefts.

https://www.nytimes.com/1978/05/31/...nsai-expertise-a-ring-is-suspected-theft.html

One of the Japanese-gifted needle juniper bonsai at the National Arboretum was stolen years ago (TWICE), taken off its stand and bench in broad daylight. DC police (one of whom was very interested in bonsai) started pushing informants to cough up the thief.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/arch...f17-a665-7d1e049ef5f2/?utm_term=.08cfde01ff60
The first time, the thief returned the tree, placing it in front of the Arb's gate and stealing away. He was later discovered (apparently after police work turned him up) and said he stole it to impress his girlfriend.
The arb also had a Chinese elm stolen
https://www.washingtonpost.com/arch...c5e-b4ba-9442019893b0/?utm_term=.c25a92903224

Wow!
Crazy!
And that makes sense, totally.

 

[Bonsai Nut]

A cautionary tale for bonsai material collectors. There are some parallels here for bonsai material taken without permission or permits.

Bizarre. I am not kidding when I say you can buy little succulents like that by the truckload here for $1 a plant. If people can truly sell them in China for $40 - $50 why aren't the big nurseries shipping them over by the container load?

 

[Bonsai Nut]

There have been instances of stealing at show takedowns, especially at vendor areas where conditions can be chaotic. Show trees have also been stolen. But I'd be willing to bet instances of knowledgeable bonsai folks stealing another person's show tree are NOT all that common. The most common theft of bonsai is from opportunistic, bonsai-ignorant thieves who take advantage of momentary lax security or give in to the urge to take the trees they see in their neighbor's backyard.

I agree. As far as I'm concerned, my bonsai are just as likely to be stolen out of my backyard as any other nice thing I leave in my backyard.

I remember years ago when there was a theft from a retail bonsai nursery in Chicago. I was there the day afterwards, surveying the (fortunately limited) damage. The owner was relieved because the thieves left the pots behind - probably due to weight. The pots were worth much more than the trees inside them!

 

[WNC Bonsai]

One good reason to use an alias on forums and don’t advertise your location. When I built my monkey poles I put them in the middle of the back yard so they can’t be seen from the street. People think be ause they are bonsi they are worth a lot, even the stuff right out of a nursery pot.

 

[CasAH]

I have been doing native habitat restoration for almost 30 years. I have caught an older lady collecting wild leaks, ramps, by the garbage bag full several times, a local photographer has caught her even more often. The police did nothing for years, as she was old and did not speak English. Had no problem with English when I talked to her, as she told me she had a business selling them to Chinese restaurants.

Finally one of the landowners employees, she weighs less than 100 lbs, read the cops the riot act after they were going to let her go. The collector was ticketed. My friend caught her an hour later in the same spot, ticketed. Caught her the next morning, ticketed. The lady blew off the Court date, the judge issued a warrant and the landowner now has a lien on her home and business.
We have not seen her the last three years, and I noticed young wild leeks popping up in areas she had decimated in the past.

 

[Solaris]

Hmm, I see.
Leaving in a bag, or sorts...?

Bags.

 

[Hyn Patty]

Sad when people won't even try to enforce the law like that. Once my car was stolen and we even knew who the kid was who did it and the cops refused to arrest him, assholes. But I did go looking and found my car two miles away in an apartment complex and got it back MYSELF, thank you very much. I should have gone to the local news station about it but I was just a kid myself. My insurance company and my father sure were glad I recovered it - it was a nice car!

 

[M. Frary]

Best way to keep the bonsai in your backyard from being poached is not to tell many people about them and keep them out of the sightline of passers-by. Frightening-looking dogs can also help.

I have mine where they can be seen from the road.
Where I live most people don't even know what a bonsai is.
The ones that do stop and talk. Of course they also see me and my dog.
A frightening looking dog and a frightening owner work to keep riff raff out of my yard.
As for taking trees here without permission,good luck. I see Forest Circus and D.N.R. out in the bush all the time. Way out.

 

[BigBen]

Friggin' thieving people just can't behave themselves, can they?!?!?!?!

Unfortunately, if something is worth a penny, some jerk-off will be willing to steal it!
Such a shame!