Under most conditions, the collection of carnivorous plants from the wild is not appropriate. Most species of carnivorous plants are already well represented in cultivation. Even relatively rare varieties or forms are in cultivation, so should not be recollected. However, there are times that collections of live plants may have merit, because the collections may be for scientific purposes such as herbaria, the species has never been introduced to cultivation, or because a remarkable variant has been encountered for the first time.

The ICPS is currently developing guidelines to help guide those who are considering collecting live plants.