Guilty Plea from Montana Man Accused of Trying to Create Giant Hybrid Sheep
A Montana rancher pleaded guilty for his role in a scheme to create giant hybrid sheep, which could then be sold to shooting preserves at higher prices than regular sheep.
Arthur “Jack” Schubarth, the owner of a Vaughn, Montana, a ranch that sells alternative livestock like mountain sheep and mountain goats, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to violate the Lacey Act and substantively violating the Lacey Act. The Lacey Act prohibits wildlife trafficking.
According to court documents, Schubarth and at least five other co-conspirators, conspired between 2013 and 2021 to create a larger hybrid species of sheep.
“This was an audacious scheme to create massive hybrid sheep species to be sold and hunted as trophies,” said Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD).
From Kyrgyzstan to Montana
Prosecutors say Schubarth bought parts of the Marco Polo argali sheep, the largest sheep in the world, from Kyrgyzstan and brought them into the United States, while failing to declare the imports.
The Marco Polo argali sheep are protected as an endangered species by federal and international law and are prohibited in Montana to protect native Montana sheep. Court documents say the argali are “trophy hunted due to their large size and unique long spiraling horns” and have a market value of about $350 per sheep.
Schubarth then sent genetic material from the argali to a lab to create cloned embryos, which were then implanted on ewes on his ranch. That resulted in a single, pure genetic male Marco Polo argali.
Schubarth and co-conspirators then used the argali’s semen to impregnate various other species of ewes and create hybrid animals, with the goal of selling the hybrid sheep to captive hunting facilities mostly in Texas.
Prosecutors say the group forged vet inspection certificates to move the sheep into and out of Montana and sold the argali semen directly to sheep breeders in other states.
Besides the argali, court documents show that Schubarth illegally obtained parts from wild-hunted Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep, and then illegally distributed them in interstate commerce.
“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 & Parks (FWP). “This was a complex case and the partnership between us and U.S Fish and Wildlife Service was critical in solving it.”
Schubarth faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison for each felony count, a maximum $250,000 fine, and three years of supervised release. Sentencing is scheduled for July 11.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Montana FWP are investigating the case.