Montana Rancher Sentenced for Illegally Breeding Hybrid Sheep for Trophy Hunting

Arthur Schubarth received six months in prison for cloning and selling giant hybrid sheep using illegally trafficked genetic material.

Arthur 'Jack' Schubarth, 81, was sentenced to six months in federal prison and fined $24,200 for his role in breeding and selling illegal hybrid sheep.
Schubarth and his co-conspirators used genetic material from Marco Polo argali sheep, illegally imported from Kyrgyzstan, to create cloned embryos.
The cloned sheep, named Montana Mountain King (MMK), was used to breed larger hybrid sheep for captive hunting facilities in Texas and Minnesota.
Schubarth's actions violated the Lacey Act and international treaties, threatening Montana's native wildlife with disease and genetic contamination.
The scheme involved forging veterinary certificates and selling MMK's semen to breeders across the United States, with some hybrid sheep fetching up to $15,000 each.