An 81-year-old Montana rancher, Arthur “Jack” Schubarth, is set to be sentenced in federal court on Monday for illegally using tissue and testicles from large sheep to create hybrid sheep for captive trophy hunting, The Associated Press reports.
While Schubarth pleaded guilty to violating federal wildlife trafficking laws, prosecutors are not seeking prison time and he is requesting a one-year probationary sentence.
The case stems from a conspiracy involving Schubarth and five other individuals who illegally imported tissue from a Marco Polo sheep, the largest sheep species in the world, from Kyrgyzstan. This tissue was used to clone the sheep, dubbed “Montana Mountain King,” and its descendants were then bred with other sheep breeds to create a larger, more valuable hybrid species for captive hunting operations in Texas and Minnesota.
Schubarth’s attorney argues that his client’s “life, reputation and family” have been ruined by the cloning project. The sentencing memorandum also acknowledges Schubarth’s accomplishment in successfully cloning the endangered sheep but notes that “if he could re-write history, he would have left the challenge of cloning a Marco Polo only to the imagination.”
Schubarth, the owner of Sun River Enterprises LLC, a 215-acre alternative livestock ranch, has been in the game farm business since 1987. He sold semen from the cloned Marco Polo sheep and hybrid offspring to several individuals, generating significant profits. He also brought sheep breeds not allowed in Montana into the state, further violating wildlife regulations.
Schubarth has expressed remorse for his actions, stating that his “enthusiasm” clouded his judgment and led him to “look for any grey area in the law.” However, the consequences of his actions have been significant, resulting in the confiscation of the cloned Marco Polo sheep by US Fish and Wildlife Services and a financial strain on his family.
