That won't fly: Venus flytrap thief snags prison sentence in North Carolina

[JacksinPA]

That won't fly: Venus flytrap thief snags prison sentence in North Carolina

Man who stole nearly 1,000 plants to get at least six monthsState made law to protect the rare, carnivorous plant in 2014

www.theguardian.com

• Man who stole nearly 1,000 plants to get at least six months
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• State made law to protect the rare, carnivorous plant in 2014

A North Carolina man will spend at least six months in prison after he removed nearly 1,000 Venus flytrap plants from public game lands.

Media outlets reported that a jury found 23-year-old Paul Simmons Jr guilty. A judge sentenced him on Tuesday to six months to 17 months in prison.

Venus flytraps only grow in wetlands and bogs of south-east North Carolina and north-east South Carolina – an area with about a 70-mile radius. The carnivorous plants, which trap and consume insects, are protected by state law. Poaching them was made a felony in North Carolina in December 2014.
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I had thought that a felony gets you a year & a day.

 

[LetsGoBrandon]

I purchased one last summer and have so far managed to keep it alive. Unique plant.

 

[ataraxia]

I guess he didn’t see the trap they sprung on him.

 

[Bum]

I was always fascinated by them; we dont have them in Minnesota, but we do have pitcher plants in the wetlands.

 

[roguenuke]

Despite growing up in NC, I did not know that they were only native to here in the Carolinas until moving back here after the Navy. That being said, they do sell them a lot at farmer's markets and other places around the state. They are pretty easy to find here, but the fact that they only grow here in our two states means that they have to be protected.

 

[LetsGoBrandon]

Despite growing up in NC, I did not know that they were only native to here in the Carolinas until moving back here after the Navy. That being said, they do sell them a lot at farmer's markets and other places around the state. They are pretty easy to find here, but the fact that they only grow here in our two states means that they have to be protected.

You can actually order them at Walmart or Amazon. You just have to time the order and shipping to them arriving above freezing temperatures, and keep them inside during cold weather.