A Montana man has pleaded guilty to two felony wildlife crimes after a decade of trying to create giant hybrid sheep and sell them to captive hunting facilities.
The man attempted to traffic Marco Polo sheep parts from Kyrgyzstan, clone sheep, and illegally inseminate ewes to create hybrids, Knewz.com has learned.
Arthur “Jack” Schubarth, 80, of Vaughn, Montana, runs a 215-acre alternative livestock ranch called Schubarth Ranch. According to court documents, Schubarth conspired with at least five other individuals between 2013 and 2021 to create a larger hybrid species of sheep that he could then sell them to private hunting reserves.
Schubarth’s operations included smuggling in parts of the largest sheep in the world: Marco Polo argali sheep.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Public Affairs, average male Marco Polo sheep weigh more than 300 pounds and have horns that span more than five feet. Native to the Pamir region of Central Asia, they are a protected species and prohibited in Montana.
Schubarth apparently sent genetic material from the argali parts to a lab to create cloned embryos and then implanted the embryos in ewes on his ranch. This created a single, pure genetic male Marco Polo argali, which Schubarth called the “Montana Mountain King” (MMK).
Schubarth apparently did not work alone, although court documents did not specify any other names.
Together with his co-conspirators, Schubarth used MMK’s semen in other species of prohibited ewes to create hybrid animals.
According to the DOJ, the purpose was to “create a larger and more valuable species of sheep to sell to captive hunting facilities, primarily in Texas.”
Schubarth and his co-conspirators forged veterinary inspection certificates to claim the sheep were permitted. Schuberth also illegally obtained genetic material from wild-hunted Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep in Montana.
“This was an audacious scheme,” Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD), said in a statement. “In pursuit of this scheme, Schubarth violated international law and the Lacey Act, both of which protect the viability and health of native populations of animals.”
The Lacey Act prohibits interstate trade in wildlife that has been taken, possessed, transported, or sold in violation of federal or state law, and prohibits the interstate sale of wildlife that has been falsely labeled.
“The kind of crime we uncovered here could threaten the integrity of our wildlife species in Montana,” said Ron Howell, chief of enforcement for Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks. “This was a complex case and the partnership between us and U.S Fish and Wildlife Service was critical in solving it.”
Katie Cheesbrough, executive director of the Wyoming Wild Sheep Foundation, told Cowboy State Daily, “Clearly, there’s a lot to be concerned about here, given the legalities of importing animal parts into the U.S.”
She added that Marco Polo sheep are admired for good reason, but trying to introduce their genetics to North America was dangerous meddling.
“They have really cool spiraling horns beyond the full curl of bighorn sheep native to North America,” she said. “With that said, they are also a vastly different species from Wyoming’s native bighorn sheep. Although the physical outcome of hybridizing an argali and Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep creates a sense of curiosity, it’s not a good idea.”
Schubarth is scheduled to be sentenced on July 11. He faces up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $25,000.
The post Rancher Guilty of Creating, Cloning ‘Giant Hybrid Sheep’ to Sell to Hunting Reserves: DOJ appeared first on Knewz.
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Author: Kelly Hartog
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