I know perfectly well why there are laws to prevent plant material to cross borders without sanitary inspection. I also know perfectly well the dangers to local fauna and flora that a bacteria, a fungus, an insect or other life forms may pose when they are placed out of her normal environment through direct import without those precautions.
I even advice members that try to buy fig cuttings through ebay that they would be better off trying to obtain the same variety closer to home.
Nevertheless, i feel there's sometimes a bit of hypocrisy with some reactions in this forum to members that buy or obtain cuttings in other countries (and i have seen this happen many times so i'm not directing this at anyone in particular).
Those (sometimes) extreme reactions seem to forget that a very large percentage of the fig varieties that are now in the USA were not obtained through the correct import channels. Otherwise, the varieties that are available over there would probably be a very small fraction of what is available now.
I am sure no one has though of criticizing the Portuguese immigrant lady that took the cuttings of Figo Preto to Point Loma. Everyone that has that variety his extremely glad that she did.
But, what she has done was also illegal and irresponsable at the time. And many, many more varieties that people love and cherish were obtained the same illegal way.
But that's ancient history. Let's use a modern example. I don't see members criticizing someone that goes on a trip abroad and obtains cuttings from several parts of the world, that don't go through the appropriate channels, brings them to the US, propagates them and starts spreading them through the fig community.
What i see is large crowds, of fig enthusiasts that get in line to be the first one to get the last fad variety, supported many times by just a few photos, untested and unproven (and sometimes pay obscene amounts for it).
Apparently, when the fig varieties reach your shores, and enter this cycle, it's fine and nothing else matters. And it's ok to propagate them and nobody is criticized for doing it or having that variety in their collection.
But, members that see nothing wrong with buying and sharing varieties that were obtained this way, feel they have a right to criticize (many times extremely aggressively) the odd member that tries to buy a few cuttings on the internet or says, in the most candid way, he obtained some variety abroad, sometimes unaware that they are doing something wrong.
As i said, and maybe i am being a bit unfair, i can't shake the feeling that's a bit hypocritical.
Sorry for the long rant, but this has been bothering me for some time.