Conservationists Fight to Protect North Carolina’s Venus Flytraps
BRUNSWICK COUNTY, NC (WWAY)– Known around the world for its snapping jaws, the Venus Flytrap is one of North Carolina’s most fascinating plants, but like any other species, it has its predators.
“It’s so unique. It’s not like the giant plants you see in the movies, but it still has that snap trap people recognize instantly. And honestly, meat-eating plants are just fascinating.”
It’s hard to miss UNCW professor Roger Shew’s admiration for the Venus flytrap.
The carnivorous plant — native to southeastern North Carolina — captures the imagination of people around the world. But that fascination also attracts poachers to places like the Green Swamp Preserve.
Shew says many of the thefts happen in remote areas near roads, where poachers can quickly get in and out unnoticed.“We see poaching in some of the more remote areas — close to the road, easy to get to, but still shaded enough that people can’t really see what’s going on.”
The problem became so serious that North Carolina made Venus Flytrap poaching a felony in 2016.
Still, Shew says the law has not completely stopped the illegal trade.
“Most of these are poor people just trying to supplement a little income. They might go out and take 50 or 100 plants. But then they have to sell them to some middleman.”
That assessment lines up with what flytrap preservationist Amber Townsend thinks.
“They are just a vessel to get Venus’s flytraps to someone else who supplies nurseries locally and internationally.”
Researchers say the market for wild flytraps includes local vendors, online plant collectors, and even pharmaceutical companies interested in the plant’s unique biochemistry.
Conservationists hope education and preservation can help slow the demand.
Townsend and her team are working to restore flytrap populations on protected land near the community center in Boiling Spring Lakes.
“We’ve been working on this site for a couple of years now. We have more than two thousand flytraps here, along with a variety of other native plants. In the future, we hope to create a trail where the public can come see them in their natural habitat.”
A celebration of the plants will be held May 30th, in the boiling spring lakes community from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
