Montana Man's Illegal Sheep Cloning Scheme Exposed

Arthur 'Jack' Schubarth, an 81-year-old Montana rancher, has been sentenced to six months in federal prison for illegally cloning and breeding a hybrid species of sheep using genetic material from the endangered Marco Polo argali sheep. Schubarth violated the Lacey Act by importing the genetic material from Kyrgyzstan without declaration and used it to create large sheep hybrids for sale to trophy hunting facilities, threatening native wildlife. The decade-long scheme involved several co-conspirators and aimed to produce larger sheep for hunting preserves. Schubarth was fined over $24,000 and ordered to pay $4,000 to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, with the remaining hybrid sheep to be slaughtered and their meat donated to a food bank. This case highlights the legal and environmental challenges associated with wildlife trafficking and genetic manipulation for commercial gain.