Bonsai Theft is not a popular subject, and is not widely discussed, but like many other societal problems is a reality. It is frustrating when your bonsai is stolen, and it doesn't help not being able to do anything about it, nor to go to a centralized location or web site to report the theft or look for help. To assist with this issue, the American Bonsai Society has created a "Stolen Bonsai Registry"(SBR) on our ABS website.

The Registry will provide a web based, accessible listing of bonsai that have been stolen. We hope this registry becomes one of the first places people look when questions arise concerning a bonsai which you may be offered to purchase. The registry will be available to the public as will as the bonsai community with visual information on trees which have been taken from their owners. While there are no sure ways to find and return stolen bonsai, the registry is one pro-active method to assist buyers and sellers by providing data on known stolen bonsai.

While we hope you never need to use the Register to list your loss, consider periodically visiting the SBR to become familiar with what is listed. It provides a resource should you ever observe in an exhibit or be offered a bonsai of significant value and may for whatever reason have questions about its source and ownership. We ask also that you spread the word about the SBR. Use your newsletters, club meetings, word of mouth and other communication channels to get the word out.

A word of preventive planning is in order here. One of the critical elements of identifying and possibly locating a stolen bonsai is to have a recent photographic record and dimensions of each of your trees. You should create a record of your valuable bonsai. A recent photograph and the data listed on the ABS registry is a necessary documentation to prove ownership for each of your trees of value. Without this record it will be significantly more difficult to reclaim a bonsai.

We encourage all bonsai organizations and websites to link to and use this site. ABS' plan is that this will become the North American registry where bonsai people can go and easily compare what they are interested in. More information and discussion on and through the ABS Forum and the ABS Journal will address this subject. ABS solicits your suggestions and knowledge of means and methods to decrease the theft of our trees. Please share your knowledge and experience with us so we can attain our shared goal.