A man who tried to breed giant hybrid sheep using genetic material from endangered animals so he could sell them to trophy hunting farms has been sentenced to six months in prison, the US Justice Department said Monday.
Arthur Schubarth, 81, illegally imported parts of the world’s largest species of sheep from Kyrgyzstan, which he used to create cloned embryos in the United States.
The resulting embryos were implanted into sheep on his Montana farm, resulting in the birth of genetically pure Marco Polo argali, an endangered species that can weigh more than 300 pounds (135 kg) and whose horns reach five feet (1.5 m ) are greater than. Wide.
Schubarth then used semen from this specimen to impregnate different species of sheep in an attempt to create never-before-seen hybrids, with the goal of breeding even larger sheep.
They hoped to sell the resulting animals to “canned” hunting farms, where customers pay to shoot captive animals, and where larger animals can command higher prices.
U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich said, “Schubarth’s criminal conduct is not how Montanans treat our wildlife populations.”
“In fact, his actions endangered Montana’s native wildlife species for no other reason than that he and his co-conspirators wanted to make more money.
“Schubarth’s greed led to his plot to bring parts of the world’s largest sheep from Kyrgyzstan to Montana.
“Such actions of creating hybrid animals are as unnatural as they are illegal.”
Schuberth, whose farm raises and sells mountain sheep, mountain goats and other wild animals primarily to game farms, pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to one count of conspiracy to violate the Lacey Act and one count of substantive violation of the Lacey Act. Admitted one case.
The Lacey Act prohibits interstate trade in certain wildlife and is used by authorities to combat wildlife trafficking.
In addition to his prison sentence, Schubarth was ordered to pay a $20,000 fine, $4,000 to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, and a $200 special assessment to the Lacey Act Reward Fund.
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