Bob, the solution was right before your eyes - hide the seeds in cocaine shipments, which usually make it through nicely. Laura On Mon, May 10, 2021 at 12:41 PM Robert Lauf via pbs < pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net> wrote: > Uli makes a number of excellent points. We all, to some extent, have a > selfish reason for sharing our prized plants, namely it gives us a bit of > an insurance policy. Even the best grower can lose something because of a > late freeze, animal damage, or whatever, so its always good to share things > widely and preserve the gene bank. You might need a piece back sometime! > Sharing also helps us push the boundaries of our knowledge of hardiness. > I'm now growing things I never thought would be hardy here if not for the > risk-free opportunity afforded by SX/BX. > Does anyone know a plant fanatic in the diplomatic corps? Perhaps we will > be reduced to moving seeds and bulbs in diplomatic pouches! > This is all so ironic in view of the tons of cocaine and fentenyl flooding > across our borders, and the hundreds of thousands of people flooding into > the EU and bringing tuberculosis along for the ride. But the bureaucrats > are worrying about an envelope of seeds. When those Amazon scammers were > sending packs of seeds to everyone, presumably from China, how many were > intercepted by CBP or APHIS? Few to none as I recall. A few years ago I > ordered a pack of seeds from Oz and the envelope came right to my door. No > permit, no certificates, no anything. Do the EU people really open every > padded envelope that comes in from overseas? > Can some EU members advise on what is the likely treatment of a padded > envelope coming from the US with a customs declaration that says "Research > specimens - no commercial value" "Product samples - no commercial value" > or some such? Seems like the worst they can do is toss it in the > incinerator. > Bob cool and rainy Zone 7 > On Monday, May 10, 2021, 12:03:46 PM EDT, Uli via pbs < > pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net> wrote: > > Dear All, > > Further to my email to the list I want to write that it was never my > intention to offend anybody who had in fact re-donated material to the > BX which I had sent before, hopefully I could solve this by private > correspondence. I want to raise awareness that I might not be able to > donate seed in the future due to the legal frame in my new home country > Portugal. Different EU countries may handle the new rules differently, > i.e. more liberally but here I am confronted with a stiff bureaucracy. > > The problem is not getting seed into the USA, so the discussion about > small lots import licence does not help. The problem is getting it out > of the EU. Importing seeds INTO the EU has become practically impossible > by Jan 1st 2020, and from Jan 1st 2021 exporting OUT of the EU is > practically impossible for private entities. A private person will not > get a phytosanitary certificate which is now required for exporting any > plant material including seed. The donation of bulbs to the USA has > become impossible for quite some time due to US legislation. I am of > course writing about the official legal frame. Inside the EU everything > remains possible so I am only too glad we set up an EU-BX. The loss of > the United Kingdom due to Brexit is another point to digest, though. > > My email also did not have the intention to want plants back. This of > course can happen but I would not do it this way. > > This is an appeal to grow on and share what you have. I do not criticize > anybody who loses plants, who am I? But be aware of a world getting > narrower and poorer every day, species getting lost every day, so you > may have something that is more precious than you might think. Grow it > on and share it! > > > Bye for now > > > Uli > > _______________________________________________ > pbs mailing list > pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net > http://lists.pacificbulbsociety.net/cgi-bin/… > Unsubscribe: <mailto:pbs-unsubscribe@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net> > > _______________________________________________ > pbs mailing list > pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net > http://lists.pacificbulbsociety.net/cgi-bin/… > Unsubscribe: <mailto:pbs-unsubscribe@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net> > _______________________________________________ pbs mailing list pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net http://lists.pacificbulbsociety.net/cgi-bin/… Unsubscribe: <mailto:pbs-unsubscribe@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net>