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Montana man sentenced for breeding “monster” hybrid rams

Rams were made from Marco Polo sheep tissue and sold to hunting preserves

October 2, 2024BY: Kristen A. Schmitt

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Last March, a Montana rancher pleaded guilty to using tissue and testicles obtained from Marco Polo argali sheep to breed giant hybrid sheep for private hunting preserves in Texas. This week, Arthur “Jack” Schubarth, 81, was sentenced to six months in prison, a three-year supervised release, a $20,000 fine and $4,000 community service payment for his crime, according to USA Today.

As GOHUNT previously reported, Schubarth and at least five other people began their foray into creating the monster hybrid in 2013 with the goal of grabbing “high prices from hunting preserves,” according to court documents. Using the biological tissue Schubarth obtained from a hunter who killed the Marco Polo sheep in Kyrgyzstan, he was able to clone embryos in a lab and then implant them into an ewe that gave birth to a pure Marco Polo argali sheep that Schubert named “Montana Mountain King.” From there, he used semen from Montana Mountain King to artificially impregnate other ewes to create a larger and more valuable species of sheep, selling one particular lamb for $10,000.

On Monday, Schubarth was found guilty of two felonies: conspiracy to violate the Lacey Act and substantively violating the Lacey Act.

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

Marco Polo sheep are native to the Pamir region of Central Asia and are not allowed in Montana to protect native bighorn sheep from disease and hybridization, according to the Justice Department.

“This case exemplifies the serious threat that wildlife trafficking poses to our native species and ecosystems,” said Edward Grace, assistant director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Office of Law Enforcement. “Mr. Schubarth's actions not only violated multiple laws designed to protect wildlife but also risked introducing diseases and compromising the genetic integrity of our wild sheep populations.”