Last year I wrote about a seller on eBay that was auctioning mass quantities of Cypripedium acaule. I'm talking about up to 15 lots of 300 plants, along with very large quantities of smaller lots. Their seller name is "kyatvrider", which I interpret to mean Kentucky All-Terrain Vehicle rider. I tracked down them to Chase's Plants & Prints from McKee, Kentucky, which is what they called themselves last year. They now have a website: http://www.pinkladyslippers.com/ . I don't know of any reputable nursery that would have quantities like this available, much less sell them on eBay, so I assume that, with the help of an ATV or two, they are stripping the woods. They do state that they ship "when they come up" and I'm sure are shipped bareroot. This area of southeastern Kentucky is a heavily forested area (except for the strip coal mines). They also seem to be stripping the forests of mosses and other wildflowers. According to WHOIS, they've now cloaked their domain name through an Australian company, so their current contact info can't be found. I'm sure it is unchanged from last year when I was able to get it. Then, it was the following:
Organisation Name: Mark Farmer Org. Address: 140 Quail Run Estates, McKee, KY 40447 Admin Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Admin Phone: 1-606-287-4923 >From what I gathered last year, they are not a licensed nursery, which is required in Kentucky in order to ship plants. They are required to accompany each shipment with a copy of an inspection certificate or license certified by the state entomologist. I sent this seller the following email through eBay last year, but received no response (surprise!): ========================== Hello, I have a number of questions about the Cypripedium acaule orchids that you are auctioning: 1. Are you a licensed nursery in the state of Kentucky, compliant to KY Law 249.060? 2. Are you compliant with KY Law 249.090: Shipments to be accompanied by inspection certificate or license? 3. You are not in the database of Kentucky Certified plant Nurseries or plant Dealers under the name of Chase's Plants and Prints. To sell these orchids and other plants without being licensed is against the law in Kentucky. 4. Do you own the land that these orchids and moss are being removed from? These orchids that you're selling a among the hardest species in America to transplant and have a typical failure rate of over 90% to survive beyond one year. They are also quite rare in most parts of the country. Please reconsider selling these plants, especially in the massive quantities that you are offering. ============================ I sent emails to Joe Collins, a Kentucky nursery inspector located at the University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, who said he would look into it. I didn't receive any sort of followup from him. It seems the state only has him and one other fellow to handle the whole state. Joe Collins Nursery Inspector S-225 Agriculture Science Center - North Department of Entomology, University of Kentucky Lexington, KY 40546-0091 (859) 257-5838; Fax: (859) 257-3807 email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.uky.edu/Agriculture/NurseryInspection This is the link to the sellers eBay store so you can see for yourselves what he's offering: http://stores.ebay.com/pinkladyslippers_W0QQssPageNameZl2QQtZkm Does anyone have any ideas of how to put pressure on this eBay seller to stop this terrible practice? Any help would be appreciated. David S. _______________________________________________ the OrchidGuide Digest (OGD) [email protected] http://orchidguide.com/mailman/listinfo/orchids_orchidguide.com
