Lacey Act Case Continues Against Gibson

Washington, DC, July 6, 2011 -- The Gibson Musical Instruments company is still in hot water regarding its alleged use of illegally harvested wood from Madagascar.

The U.S. Department of Justice, in its efforts to enforce recent amendments to the the Lacey Act, said that last month it filed a motion in the Middle District of Tennessee to strike the claims of Gibson and wood trader Theodor Nagel GMDB & Co KG in the civil case that is currently underway.

Gibson allegedly used illegal ebony wood seized in 2009 as part of the government’s investigation.
 
According to the filing, “Gibson sourced its unfinished ebony wood in the form of blanks (for use in the manufacture of fingerboards for Gibson guitars) from Nagel (in Germany), which obtained it exclusively from Roger Thunam (a supplier in Madagascar). Madagascar prohibits the harvest of ebony wood as well as the exportation of unfinished ebony wood.”
 
The filing also said that a Gibson employee…wrote (in an email) that Ebony species preferred by Gibson Musical Instruments is found only in Madagascar, is a slow-growing tree species with very little conservation protection and supplies are considered to be highly threatened in its native environment due to over exploitation.