A farmer has been caught illegally breeding “mas-sive” mutant sheep to sell to private hunting re-serves for up to $10,000, a court in Montana heard.
Arthur “Jack” Schubarth, 80, who owns a 215-acre ranch in Vaughn, Montana, pleaded guilty to criminal charges of wildlife trafficking and conspiracy to traffic wildlife at a court in Great Falls on Tuesday.
Prosecutors say he illegally used tissue and testicles from wild sheep killed by hunters in Central Asia, and the US, to breed hybrid sheep for sale.
According to court documents, Schubarth con-spired with at least five other people between 2013 and 2021 to create a larger hybrid species of sheep that would generate high prices from shooting reserves, where people pay to hunt captive trophy game animals.
Schubarth’s ranch specialises in the purchase, sale and breeding of “alternative livestock” such as mountain sheep, mountain goats and various ungulates, according to prosecutors.
They claimed that Schubarth secretly brought parts of the largest sheep in the world, the Marco Polo argali sheep from Kyrgyzstan, into America.
Marco Polo males, which are native to the mountains of the Pamir region of Central Asia, can weigh more than 22 stone with horns that span more than 5ft.
They are protected species internationally and the court also heard how they are prohibited in Montana to protect native sheep from disease and hybridisation.—Agencies
