An 81-year-old Montana man faces sentencing for cloning a giant Marco Polo sheep using illegally trafficked tissue and testicles.
A sentencing memorandum submitted by the defense congratulated Arthur “Jack” Schubarth of Vaughn, Montana, for successfully cloning the sheep in his barn, which he named Montana Mountain King.
Marco Polo sheep are the largest in the world, can weigh up to 300 pounds and possess curled horns measuring up to 5 feet long. They are classified as near-threatened and efforts have been made to protect the species.
“Jack did something no one else could, or has ever done,” the memo said. “On a ranch, in a barn in Montana, he created Montana Mountain King.”
“MMK is an extraordinary animal, born of science, and from a man who, if he could rewrite history, would have left the challenge of cloning a Marco Polo only to the imagination of Michael Crichton,” the memo added invoking the famed author of the science fiction novel Jurassic Park.
The animal has been confiscated by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services.
Prosecutors are not seeking prison time for Schubarth, according to court records.
Schubarth is requesting a one-year probationary sentence for violating federal wildlife trafficking laws.
The maximum punishment for the two Lacey Act violations is five years in prison, and the fine can be up to $250,000 or twice the defendant’s financial gain.
In his request for the probationary sentence, Schubarth’s attorney said cloning the giant Marco Polo sheep originally hunted in Kyrgyzstan has ruined his client’s “life, reputation and family.”
Schubarth owns Sun River Enterprises LLC, a 215-acre alternative livestock ranch that buys, sells, and breeds “alternative livestock,” including mountain sheep, mountain goats, and ungulates.
These animals are primarily intended for private hunting preserves where individuals can pay to shoot captive trophy game animals, according to prosecutors.
Schubarth has been involved in the game farm business since 1987.
In March, Schubarth pleaded guilty to charges related to a conspiracy involving him and five others who illegally imported tissue from a Marco Polo sheep into the U.S.
They intended to clone the animal and use the clones and their descendants to create a larger, hybrid species of sheep that would be more valuable for captive hunting operations.
Schubarth sold semen from MMK, along with hybrid sheep, to three individuals in Texas.
A Minnesota resident brought 74 sheep to Schubarth’s ranch for insemination at various times.
One direct offspring from MMK was sold for $10,000, while other sheep with lesser MMK genetics were sold for smaller amounts.
In October 2019, court records indicate that Schubarth paid a hunting guide $400 for the testicles of a trophy-sized Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep harvested in Montana, subsequently extracting and selling the semen.
Sheep breeds that are not allowed in Montana were brought into the state as part of the conspiracy, including 43 sheep from Texas, prosecutors said.
While the names of the five coconspirators were not disclosed in court records, Schubarth’s plea agreement requires him to fully cooperate with prosecutors and testify if called.
Montana wildlife officials have indicated that the investigation is ongoing.
Schubarth, in a letter attached to the sentencing memo, said he has been extremely passionate about any project he has taken on, including his “sheep project,” and is ashamed of his actions.
“I got my normal mindset clouded by my enthusiasm and looked for any gray area in the law to make the best sheep I could for this sheep industry,” he wrote. “My family has never been broke, but we are now.”
This article contains reporting from The Associated Press
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