Certified plantita Aubrey Miles recently spoke up about her thoughts on plant thieves and those who patronize stolen plants, which could also serve as warning.
“Ok this only applies to the buyers who are aware that they’re buying stolen goods. Buying stolen plants doesn’t make one a better collector, just because you have this and that species. Remember if you buy a known and rare kind, you can’t share it, can’t post it, can’t talk about it and straight up it’s a stolen plant,” she said in her Instagram page yesterday, Jan. 16.
The appreciation for a stolen plant, according to Miles, is very limited. A stolen plant is something that one cannot be proud of because the buyer can only have “the stolen plant alone in your house while drinking coffee.”
“Enjoy it alone and all by yourself,” she stressed. She also expressed disbelief that there are people who see nothing wrong in buying stolen plants.
Miles said there are reasons why someone shares photos of his or her plants online. One is to inspire.
“When we post we don’t know who we’re inspiring. We post and share, maybe someone wants to see beautiful things and also minsan happy na sila na binubusog mo mga mata nila (sometimes, people are pleased when you give their eyes something to feats on). Libre naman ang mag share (It’s free to share),” she said.
Sharing photos is also inspiring people to love plants more, whether the plant is rare or not, Miles added.
Miles meanwhile explained that those who buy stolen plants run the risk of being exposed and blacklisted, even if a person possesses just one stolen plant.
“[Panandaliang] kaligayan na nakamura ka pero balang araw mabubuking din. Never mind kung mura ang halaga ng plant kung nakaw naman,” she added. (Your happiness will only be temporary if you paid less but would be found out later. Nevermind if the plant is low-priced, [it is useless] if it is stolen.)
In the end, Miles lauded the legitimate collectors: “Salute! Keep planting.” JB
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