Breeder's illegal attempt to create giant hybrid sheep backfires

An 80-year-old man in the US state of Montana has become entangled in a bizarre criminal case, involving secretive insemination to forgery, in a bid to create giant hybrid sheep.

According to the US Department of Justice, Arthur "Jack" Schubarth, the owner of a sprawling 87-hectare (215-acre) ranch in Montana, orchestrated a lucrative scheme to breed oversized sheep hybrids with intentions to peddle them to confined hunting facilities.

The intricate plot began when Schubarth began importing body parts of Marco Polo sheep, the largest subspecies of sheep globally, from their native Kyrgyzstan, sidestepping legal declarations in the process.

Protected by wildlife preservation laws and banned in Montana to safeguard indigenous sheep populations, the sheep, known scientifically as Ovis ammon polii, boast staggering weights exceeding 136 kilograms (300 pounds) and horn spans surpassing 1.5 meters (5 feet), rendering them highly coveted trophies for hunters.

Employing genetic material extracted from the Marco Polo sheep, Schubarth commissioned a laboratory to fashion cloned embryos. These embryos found their home in ewes on his ranch, birthing male progenies dubbed "Montana Mountain King" or MMK. Subsequently, MMK semen fertilized various ewes of different species, also prohibited in Montana, to give rise to hybrid sheep.

Between 2013 and 2021, Schubarth conspired with at least five accomplices to execute this elaborate ruse. The operation involved the fabrication of veterinary certificates to falsify the sheep's species. Moreover, Schubarth illicitly obtained genetic material from Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep, harvested from the wilds of Montana.

This duplicitous scheme broke the Lacey Act, a conservation statute combating the illicit trafficking of wildlife and regulating the introduction of non-native species to new habitats.

On March 12, Schubarth pleaded guilty to two felony wildlife offenses: conspiring to violate the Lacey Act and substantively breaching the Lacey Act, with each charge carrying a maximum punishment of five years' imprisonment and a $250,000 fine. Schubarth awaits sentencing on July 11, 2024.

"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," remarked Todd Kim, Assistant Attorney General at the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division.

"The kind of crime we uncovered here could threaten the integrity of our wildlife species in Montana. This was a complex case and the partnership between us and the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service was critical in solving it," added Ron Howell, Chief of Enforcement for Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks.

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