A Montana man has been sentenced to six months in prison for his involvement in a sheep cloning and breeding scheme involving a rare breed of sheep.
Accordingly USA TodayArthur “Jack” Schubarth, 81, is going to prison after cloning a rare breed of sheep from Asia and implanting the embryos into his own sheep in an attempt to create larger hybrid sheep. The Justice Department alleges that Schubarth imported parts of the Marco Polo argali sheep, the world's largest sheep breed, from Kyrgyzstan to the United States without declaring them to authorities. This was a violation of the Lacey Act, which prohibits the illegal trade of wildlife, fish and plants, as well as rules set by the Endangered Species Act and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). In Montana, they are prohibited from protecting domestic sheep from such diseases and interbreeding.
Authorities say Schubarth's goal was to sell clones of his new hybrid sheep to closed hunting facilities, namely shooting preserves or hunting farms, for a higher price than other animals would normally fetch. He was not the only person involved, as at least five other people were thought to be part of the conspiracy, according to the Department of Justice.
“Not only did Schubarth violate federal and state laws and international agreements, but he and others unlawfully conspired to conceal their actions from authorities,” said Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim of DOJ's Environment and Natural Resources Division. he said.
“Schubarth's criminal behavior is unlike the way Montanans treat our wildlife population,” added Jesse Laslovich, U.S. Attorney for the District of Montana. “His actions threatened Montana's native wildlife species for no other reason than that he and his collaborators wanted to make more money. Schubarth's greed led to their conspiracy to bring some of the world's largest sheep from Kyrgyzstan to Montana. Hybrid “Such actions to create animals are as unnatural as they are illegal, and I appreciate the extensive cooperation and efforts of all our law enforcement partners in bringing Schubarth to justice.”
Schubarth will spend six months behind bars and be sentenced to three years of probation. He will also have to pay a $20,000 fine and $4,000 in community service.