Montana Rancher Who Created Giant, Hybrid Sheep Sentenced to Six Months in Prison

A rancher from Montana was sentenced to six months in prison on Monday for using parts from protected sheep to create giant sheep hybrids, aiming to sell the species to captive hunting facilities.

For nearly a decade, Arthur “Jack” Schubarth, 81, conspired with other individuals to clone endangered mountain sheep embryos and use them to breed a hybrid species, according to a statement from the United States Department of Justice.

Schubarth’s charges were not directly related to the cloning itself, but rather the illegal trafficking of wildlife. He imported parts from the world’s largest sheep, the Marco Polo argali found in Kyrgyzstan, into the United States. Then, Schubarth sent genetic material from these samples to a lab that created cloned embryos, which he implanted in female sheep, or ewes, on his ranch.

This effort resulted in the birth of a single, purebred male Marco Polo argali, which he named Montana Mountain King, or MMK.

Schubarth bred the male MMK with female sheep to create hybrid offspring that are larger than the average Marco Polo argali male, which can weigh more than 300 pounds and have horns longer than five feet. Schubarth sold some of MMK’s semen to other breeders and sold one of the sheep’s direct offspring for $10,000, per Amy Beth Hanson of the Associated Press.

“Schubarth’s criminal conduct is not how Montanans treat our wildlife population,” says Jesse Laslovich, the U.S. attorney for the District of Montana, in the statement. “Indeed, his actions threatened Montana’s native wildlife species for no other reason than he and his co-conspirators wanted to make more money.”

In March, Schubarth pleaded guilty to two felony wildlife crimes related to violating the Lacey Act, a law designed to combat animal trafficking, according to a previous statement from the Department of Justice.

On Monday, Schubarth was also ordered to pay $20,000 to the Lacey Act Reward Fund and $4,000 to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.

“I got my normal mindset clouded by my enthusiasm and looked for any gray area in the law to make the best sheep I could for this sheep industry,” Schubarth wrote in a letter accompanying his sentencing memo, per the AP.

U.S. District Court Judge Brian Morris had difficulty coming up with a sentence for Schubarth. Morris considered the man’s age and clean criminal record alongside the desire to discourage anyone else from attempting to “change the genetic makeup of the creatures” on the Earth, reports the AP.

Marco Polo argali sheep, native to Central Asia, are protected by the Endangered Species Act and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. They are also banned in Montana to protect native sheep from diseases and safeguard the “genetic integrity” of wild sheep populations, Edward Grace, assistant director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Office of Law Enforcement, says in the statement. During Schubarth’s scheme, at least two sheep died from Johne’s disease—a contagious, chronic wasting disease.

“This case exemplifies the serious threat that wildlife trafficking poses to our native species and ecosystems,” Grace adds. “This sends a clear message that we will not tolerate the illegal importation, sale and transport of wildlife, especially when it endangers our natural heritage.”

Alexa Robles-Gil | | READ MORE

Alexa Robles-Gil is a bilingual science journalist based in New York City. Her work has appeared in the Guardian, Undark, Inside Climate News and more.