Hunter faces jail for breeding giant sheep
Man, 80, pleads guilty to wildlife trafficking after using tissue from wild sheep in Central Asia
A FARMER has been caught illegally breeding “massive” mutant sheep to sell to private hunting reserves for up to $10,000 (£7,850), a court in Montana heard.
Arthur “Jack” Schubarth, 80, who owns a 215-acre ranch in Vaughn, Montana, pleaded guilty to criminal charges of wildlife trafficking and conspiracy to traffic wildlife at a court in Great Falls on Tuesday. Prosecutors said he illegally used tissue and testicles from wild sheep killed by hunters in Central Asia and the US to breed hybrid sheep to sell.
According to court documents, Schubarth conspired with at least five other people between 2013 and 2021 to create a larger hybrid species of sheep that would generate high prices from shooting reserves, where people pay to hunt captive trophy game animals.
Schubarth’s ranch specialises in the purchase, sale and breeding of “alternative livestock” such as mountain sheep, mountain goats and various ungulates, according to prosecutors. They claimed Schubarth secretly brought parts of the largest sheep in the world, the Marco Polo argali sheep from Kyrgyzstan, into the US.
Marco Polo males, which are native to the mountains of the Pamir Mountain region of Central Asia, can weigh more than 22 stone with horns that span more than five feet. They are a protected species internationally and also a prohibited breed in Montana to protect native sheep from disease and hybridisation, the court heard.
Prosecutors say Schubarth sent genetic material from the Marco Polo’s body parts to a lab to create cloned embryos. He then implanted the embryos in ewes on his ranch, resulting in a pure genetic male Marco Polo that Schubarth named “Montana Mountain King” or MMK, the court heard.
Court documents stated that Schubarth worked with his co-conspirators to use the Montana Mountain King’s semen to artificially impregnate various other species of ewes and create hybrid animals. He agreed to sell one offspring to two people in Texas for $10,000, the court heard.
To move the prohibited sheep in and out of Montana, Schubarth and others forged veterinary inspection certificates, falsely claiming that the sheep were a legally permitted species.
Prosecutors said Schubarth also sold semen from the Montana Mountain King to sheep breeders in other states. Todd Kim, assistant attorney general, said: “This was an audacious scheme to create massive hybrid sheep species to be sold and hunted as trophies.
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 trade in wildlife that has been taken, possessed, transported or sold in violation of federal or state law.
Schubarth also illegally purchased genetic material from a Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep, the largest wild sheep in North America, which stand around 3ft tall and can weigh over 21 stone, to traffic to buyers in other states.
He paid $400 to a hunter for the testicles from one of the wild sheep, which had been shot in Montana, to breed more of the species and crossbreed with the argali sheep. Ron Howell, the head of state wildlife enforcement, said: “The kind of crime we uncovered here could threaten the integrity of our wildlife species in Montana.”
Each count carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Schubarth is due to be sentenced on July 11.
On a Facebook page in his name, which features numerous photos of livestock, Schubarth wrote two days ago: “We have not been able to sell sheep for about three years now. First time in 80-plus years I’m broke.”
In 2019, Donald Trump Jr, the son of the former president, was condemned by animal rights groups when he went to hunt argali sheep in Mongolia, where they are considered a national treasure. He reportedly shot one of the creatures, which are on the list of near-threatened species, using a laser-sighted rifle.