A farmer is facing potential jail time after secretly buying parts of the largest sheep in the world in order to illegally breed animals he could sell for up to $10,000, a Montana Court was told.
According to prosecutors, Arthur ‘Jack’ Schubarth, 80, acquired parts of a protected 'mutant' species, the Marco Polo argali sheep from Kyrgyzstan, to breed an even larger sheep for sale to private shooting reserves.
He illegally In a collaboration with at least five others between 2013 and 2021, he used tissue and testicles from the wild sheep that were killed by hunters in Central Asia, as per prosecutors.
Schubarth admitted guilt to charges of wildlife trafficking and conspiracy to traffic wildlife at a court in Great Falls, Montana, on Tuesday, the Telegraph reported.
His 215-acre ranch in Vaughn specializes in the purchase, sale, and breeding of 'alternative livestock' like mountain sheep, mountain goats, and other ungulates, according to prosecutors.
He intended to sell the hybrid sheep species to ranges where individuals pay to hunt captive trophy animals.
Marco Polo males, native to the mountains of the Pamir Mountains of Central Asia, can weigh more than 22 stone with a horn span of more than five feet.
Donald Trump Jr sparked condemnation in 2019 when he went hunting for the species in Mongolia, where the near-threatened species of sheep is seen as a national treasure.
As well as being an international protected species, Marco Polo sheep are banned in Montana to protect native sheep from disease and hybridization.
But Schubarth jeopardized 'the integrity of our wildlife species in Montana’ by bringing the argali sheep parts into the state in the hopes of breeding a massive hybrid.
‘This was an audacious scheme to create massive hybrid sheep species to be sold and hunted as trophies’, according to assistant attorney general Todd Kim.
‘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 Act prohibits the trade in wildlife that has been taken, possessed, transported, or sold in violation of federal or state law.
Schubarth and his conspirators falsified veterinary inspection certificates and falsely claimed the sheep were legally permitted species so they could traffic the banned sheep in and out of Montana, the court heard.
He sent the banned sheep’s genetic material to a lab to create cloned embryos, which he implanted into his own ewes, prosecutors said.
This produced one pure genetic male Marco Polo of massive size, which he called ‘Montana Mountain King’, the court heard.
It's estimated the hybrid sheep was over 125cm tall and weighed more than 145kg, larger than the 120cm and 140kg of a Marco Polo.
When compared, the usual British Suffolk species is only 125kg and 80cm tall.
According to court documents, Schubarth conspired with others to use the semen of the Montana Mountain King sheep to artificially impregnate other species of sheep to create hybrids.
According to prosecutors, he directly sold the semen of the Montana Mountain King sheep to sheep breeders in other states.
The farmer allegedly agreed to sell one offspring to two people in Texas for $10,000 and allegedly shot one of the sheep using a laser-sighted rifle.
Additionally, Schubarth unlawfully purchased genetic material from a Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep to sell to buyers in other states.
The biggest wild sheep in North America, it stands around three feet tall and can weigh over 21 stone.
Schubarth paid $400 to a hunter for the testicles of one that had been shot in Montana in order to breed more of the species and crossbreed with the argali sheep.
According to Montana’s head of state wildlife enforcement, Ron Howell, the actions of Schubert could pose a threat to the integrity of Montana’s wildlife species.
Ron Howell said: 'The type of crime we found could endanger the integrity of our wildlife species in Montana.'
Schubarth could face up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each count.
His sentencing is set for July 11.
On a Facebook page under 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.'
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