Plant Heist - Succulent Smuggling Documentary (SXSW Official selection)
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- Опубліковано 7 лют 2022
- Thousands of Succulents, millions of dollars. a real world theft of highly prized plants that are worth BIG money.
In northern California, a Game Warden uncovers an illicit network of succulent poachers after mysterious packages containing native plants are reported, and with the help of citizens, biologists, and authorities, he races against time to halt the destruction before permanent damage is inflicted on the land.
Winner of Emerald award Coronado Film Festival 2021
✳️A note from the Filmmakers
Hi there, it all began with reading a news article in The New Yorker describing the case and Officer Freeling's big break. We decided to call him up and ask to talk on camera about it, not really knowing where it would lead but understanding it was incredibly bizarre and interesting. We self-funded the whole project and are proud of what we were able to pull off with very little money. We're very grateful to have been accepted into prominent festivals like SXSW and Doc NYC. In documentary filmmaking, finding an audience that cares about the issues in your film is crucial, so festivals are huge. Please share the video; the more people who know that plant poaching is a real issue, the better!
UPDATE⚠️: Governor Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill (AB) 223 by Assembly member Chris Ward (D - San Diego) into law, making it unlawful to sell, or possess with the intent to sell, any Dudleya illegally taken from its natural habitat on state lands. AB 223 makes it unlawful to sell or possess with the intent to sell any Dudleya illegally taken from its natural habitat and establishes minimum penalties of $5,000 per plant for the first offense, and $40,000 per plant for any subsequent offenses. - Фільми й анімація
someone give Pat Freeling a medal.
Loved the last part where volunteers replanted some of the confiscated succulents.
These plants are part of our ecological treasure that belong to us all. Which is why foreigners taking them is such a slap in the face.
Fully Agree!
One of the really unfortunate things about taking Dudleyas from the wild is that many are very site specific and don't transplant well, if at all.
and theyre super easy and fast to grow from seed. none of this makes sense
@@Don-Kedik Or the pups they produce or even a leaf produces pups.
tbh if i caught people defiling my national parks like that, they'd be paying reparations as fertilizer 💀
Thanks for this! " 🌵 Only take photos! and don't buy poached plants 🦊 "
100% agree! Wild plant photos are super fun to get!
@@SiblingRivalry772 Agreed! Sorry, I read that wrong at first 😂
Made me happy to see Brett at the Arboretum for a second! Great Documentary!
I was very sad to see two women stealing chalk dudleyas while walking in our local regional park. I told them what they were doing was illegal.
🤫
Some good news in east Asia. Most Dudleyas are safe now. Because they have been widely propagated by Chinese farmers. Farmers produce them in the way of producing vegetables~~ Farmers have figured out how to sow them and made them grow 10x than in nature. Only one greenhouse can produce hundreds of thousands of them. So the price slumped to only as the 1% from $300 in 2017 to $4 in 2023 for a typical cutie. So there is no financial reward for poaching. But there is still some concerns about hunting for "new unseen species"
It's VERY easy to propagate echevaria species, because EACH LEAF can become a new plant with propagation. I hate echevaria but women here love them. I'm more a cactus guy, have about 400, mainly trichocereus.
@@OffGridInvestorit’s easy to propagate from a leaf but it takes forever. And ever. And forever.
Slower than an echeveria?
theyre super easy from seed. glad theyre growing them from seed now.
this is such an excellent and well made documentary! I've made similar ones on poached plants from south america. would love to see more from this channel!
Glad you liked the doc👍
Great story.
Thanks Erik!
Well that's just sad, I'm a new plantmom and the best part about it is watching them grow everyday, waiting to see any new change. I can't imagine what would be the satisfying about a stolen succulent
I agree! It is a strange phenomena, happens with giant Saguaro cactus's too out of Arizona
Grow your own!!!! Jesus Christ!
too true, i grow succulents and once you have a leaf its so easy to get a healthy renewable crop. dont get some people who feel the need to steal ones from the wild
I wondered the same thing. Fast money, some of those plants took 30 years to grow.
Just grow from seeds. Jeez
I'm more a cactus guy. Everything I get is from local nurseries. I have about 400 and A FEW are some of the most insane things you've seen but I often only have one of the real unique ones. Hate echevaria and anything that looks like it. Only have 2.
To each his own I guess 😊. I love the echeveria, but I also am fond of cactus and cacti. Succulents are true survivors.
This makes me so angry. But I’m glad there are laws being enforced.
Great video! now everyone knows how valuable they are.. great job
sad that they go the poaching route bc they're quite easy to start growing by seed from what I hear. I've seen them sell starting from $4-15 here in the LA area.
Lmao, let’s never bring awareness to any issue then 🤡
Recently, Dudleya Farinosa in California has experienced a significant decline in poaching cases, thanks to several factors, including the implementation of a new law, AB 223, which has substantially increased fines for poaching to $40,000. Additionally, the widespread cultivation and hybridization of new plants, spearheaded by concerned botanists and horticulturists, have flooded the market with easily grown varieties of Dudleya farinosa. As a result, these plants are now available for purchase at many nurseries in California, including Home Depot. We were also informed by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) that this film played an integral role in the enactment of AB 223.
This is messed up I collect sucllents I buy from mountain crest gardens and live in South Carolina
fines and prison isnt enough imo
Crazy to see that not only british are interested in other countries treasures.
I grow San Pedro cacti and some of the cuts can go fo thousands of dollars! At least wth San Pedro you can eat it and get high.
Indeed! big fan of San Pedro!
Soooooooo much more to San Pedro than getting high
$200. for a succulent? They could have just as easily bought them legally online for a small fraction of the cost. Or did I miss something?
At the time of these thefts you could not buy any Dudleya Farinosa other than those stolen from the wild. Thankfully you can now find Dudleya Farinosa for sale from many nurseries in California including Home Depot and ACE thanks to a concerted effort to flood the market from commercial horticulturist, this effort did take time to achieve. Unfortunately wild plant poaching continues to be a problem with other species.
Horrible. And it indeed is a worldwide issue. What happens to recovered plants? It's definitely didnt sound like anything was being returned.
Also, just casually whipping out a ghillie suit is hilarious.
while i understand the poaching aspect, where do you think the plants from lowes and home depot originally came from
Plants from big box nurseries are not obtained through people poaching massive amounts of plants from the wild. Instead, these plants are cultivated in large-scale wholesale plant nurseries and then supplied to retailers like HD and Lowe's. While it is accurate to say that all plants originally came from the wild, there is an ethical and environmentally friendly approach to this process. Unfortunately, this method requires time and patience to propagate and grow the plants. On the contrary, poachers are focused on making significant profits quickly, often at the expense of the environment. This approach is notably selfish and unsustainable.
Bro what 🤨🧐 Loews and Home Depot don’t buy poached plants 😂 the sheer volume of plants they sell would not be sustainable or cost efficient with poached plants. It might surprise you but large companies cultivate and sell succulents, cactus and other plants you see a big box stores 😂
SAD
My question is what happened to the thousands of succulents that where intercepted why where there just 1000 replanted? The people confiscating are the people who are reselling the plants! They where not destroyed.
$10,000 fine at $500/plant is basically 20 plants. Slap on the wrist.
who the hell can sell a tiny plant for $500
Oh My God this is all about the State Government wanting Taxes
Who would have thought, immigrants, having no respect for our country and its laws…. Who would’ve seen that coming?
Yeah and they entered the country the right way. Who would’ve thought legal immigrants would have no respect for America? 🤣
Wall 2025
I understand some plants are extremely valuable but this particular one is so boring looking, I don’t see the appeal. This is super generic and simple looking.
Plant collectors want the thrill of next new and rare plant. The appeal is secondary.
If it’s variegated they are very costly
it's not boring looking they have incredible hummingbird pollinated flowers
@@Don-Kedik I’m just not into them.