What to do about an obs showing illegal uprooting of plants?

[emilirondelle]

I came across a recent observation in my area where a user is showing that they first observed and then dug up a plant and took it home (the observation includes a note about doing this, and photos of the plant’s cleaned roots). The problem is that the location where the plant was collected is within a country park area in Hong Kong, in which all plants are protected by law, and it is illegal to collect or otherwise damage them without a permit. Another local Inat user tried flagging the photos, but it seems to not be considered as a case in which a photo can be taken down. I have left a comment on the obs to educate the user about what’s allowed in HK’s country parks.

My question is this: how should such an observation ideally be handled on Inat? Is flagging reasonable? Unfortunately people do illegally collect plants in Hong Kong but I don’t think Inat should be a platform for users to record themselves doing so.

Thanks for anyone’s advice. I have done a quick search of the forum but couldn’t find a similar topic – apologies if this has been addressed before.

[AdamWargon]

Here’s what Chris said in 2021:

@cthawley

most people will not be aware that they are doing this. There are some obvious exceptions (please don’t try to ride sea turtles, etc), but I think scaring people with legal consequences isn’t likely to have a strong beneficial impact. Gentle education will probably get the best response.

Many people are even well meaning while doing “stupid” things…can’t tell you how many people chase seals back into the ocean when seals are hauled out to bask or injured and taking a rest. Harassing a marine mammal is a violation of the MMPA in the US, but these people are trying to help a seal they think is confused (not intentionally breaking the law). Most folks are oblivious of wildlife laws, so educating will help a lot! If they know a better way to help the seal (ie, leave it alone!), they will do so.

It’s not an easy solution, but I think iNat can be viewed as a net positive here. I would guess that a lot of these interactions would have happened even without iNat - having them posted on iNat then provides a chance to educate and improve behavior in the future that wouldn’t have existed without it.

And Tony said:

@tiwane

Obviously we don’t want to encourage illegal behavior when it comes to protected species, but I think building a community that educates users about appropriate behavior would be more powerful and less likely to backfire than having an easily accessible label anyone could slap onto an observation. DQA votes and ID disgreements already engender rancor - finding that a stranger annotated one’s observation as “illegal” would be much worse, I think. Especially if the person had a permit or if they were unaware their behavior violated a law. And if someone says they have a permit, how would we obtain evidence of it?

[emilirondelle]

OK, I see - thank you. Seems like there’s been quite a bit of discussion already. Hopefully this is a case of ignorance and commenting to educate will have a positive effect. It just feels off for an observation like this to just be sitting there on the platform but

[DianaStuder]

I hear you. I feel your pain. Ask – politely. Not in your context, but sometimes in mine – it is a scientist with a permit. Or volunteers with permits ahead of clearing for construction. Or, not allowed, but – my neighbour is clearing the plot for building, and I will rescue some plants …

Poaching plants in a protected area makes me see red ! Sometimes it goes the other way, they are restoring plants to an area where they would have, could have, maybe even did, grow.

There are other threads about foraging for mushrooms, seafood, edible greens or berries. With a permit ? Sustainable use ?

[sedgequeen]

iNaturalist’s role in this is simply to record the presence of the plant and, in this case, what happened to it. To deal with the illegal collecting, you (or anyone else here) could message the observer, point out that the area was protected, they shouldn’t have taken the plant, and you hope they won’t do ti again. Be gentle because you hope this resulted from ignorance. See what response you get. Alternatively (and I wouldn’t do it unless looking at the person’s observations provides evidence of extensive poaching over time), contact the park, giving the link to the observation and let them choose what to do about it.

[paul_dennehy]

@tiwane

Especially if the person had a permit

This is important. I’ve had users attack me and threaten legal consequences when I post pinned collected specimens from protected areas, unaware that I have permits to do research there. I try to add some sort of “collected with permit” comment, but that can get tedious and I forget sometimes. I’d say the best policy is to assume the best and ask gently if they’re aware of the regulations if you’re concerned.

[DianaStuder]

@paul_dennehy

“collected with permit” comment, but that can get tedious and I forget sometimes

Might you put that in your profile ? (Maybe you have, then sorry)

[thebeachcomber]

@DianaStuder

Might you put that in your profile ?

this is what I do to try stave off any comments in advance

I have a license to collect plants and invertebrates in NSW, and regularly collect specimens to deposit at the National Herbarium of New South Wales and the John T. Waterhouse Herbarium at UNSW. I have a particular interest in documenting introduced plants, especially new national or state records, range extensions, or otherwise rare/unusual weeds.

[emilirondelle]

I appreciate all the inputs, thank you. This user doesn’t appear to be holding a permit (anonymous, casual-seeming account, no profile info, and and says they don’t know the plant) hence my cause for concern. I did indeed add a comment to educate, and hopefully the issue won’t repeat itself.

Edit: looks like the obs has been deleted.