This is really sad….how could a musician make music knowing that they are participating in the extinction of a species? Please people, use synthetic…the only reason this black market exists is because there is a demand.
Woman accused of importing turtle-shell picks
Last Modified: Saturday, March 28, 2009 at 3:45 a.m.
A Santa Rosa woman has been indicted on federal charges of illegally importing guitar picks made from endangered turtle shells.
Qing Song, also known as Christie Song, 54, is charged with two misdemeanors and a felony count of trading endangered species. She is accused of selling 74 picks and possessing 899 made from the hawksbill sea turtle.
Hawksbills are one of seven distinct species of sea turtles that have been listed as endangered under either the Endangered Species Act or an international treaty on the trade of endangered species.
Song is scheduled to appear in court April 14.
She faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison, a $200,000 fine and three years of probation on the felony charge. She faces an additional $100,000 fine, a year in prison and a year of probation on each of the two misdemeanor charges.
“Guitar picks made from the shell material of sea turtles are highly desired by skilled musicians, despite their illegality, because they are believed to produce a tone that is superior to that produced by plastic guitar picks,” the indictment states.
Music chat rooms are filled with questions about synthetic products that claim to mimic the sound produced with turtle-shell picks. There are also discussions about whether heirloom picks can be sold and whether it’s legal to convert existing turtle material found in jewelry boxes into guitar picks.
Song is accused of selling 24 guitar picks made of hawksbill sea turtle in March 2007, according to the indictment.
She then sold 50 picks in August 2007 for more than $350, according to the indictment. The following month, she was in possession of 899 picks made from the turtles, the indictment states.
– Staff Writer Kerry Benefield writes an education blog at extracredit.pressdemocrat.com. She can be reached at 526-8671 or kerry.benefield@pressdemocrat.com.
Filed under: My Journal
She sold 50 shell picks and got only $350 for them?
When I see shell picks for sale, they’re usually $35-$50. If you’re going to sell contraband, you at least ought to make it worth your while.