An 81-year-old Montana man, Arthur “Jack” Schubarth, was sentenced on Monday to six months in federal prison for illegally using tissue and testicles from large sheep hunted in Central Asia and the U.S. to create hybrid sheep for captive trophy hunting in Texas and Minnesota.
U.S. District Court Judge Brian Morris expressed difficulty in deciding a sentence for Schubarth, considering his age and lack of criminal history against the need to deter such actions that aim to alter “the genetic makeup of the creatures” on the planet. Alongside the prison sentence, Morris fined Schubarth $20,000 and mandated a $4,000 payment to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Foundation. Schubarth was granted the option to self-report to a Bureau of Prisons medical facility.
“I will have to work the rest of my life to repair everything I’ve done,” a remorseful Schubarth stated to the judge before his sentencing.
Jason Holden, Schubarth’s attorney, remarked that cloning the giant Marco Polo sheep hunted in Kyrgyzstan in 2013 had devastated his client’s life, reputation, and family. “I think this has broken him,” Holden said, and argued for a probationary sentence, portraying Schubarth as a hardworking man who had always cared for animals and achieved something unprecedented in cloning the giant sheep, which he named Montana Mountain King (MMK).
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services have confiscated the animal, currently housed in an accredited facility awaiting transfer to a zoo, according to Richard Bare, a special agent with the wildlife service.
Attorney Sarah Brown from the U.S. Department of Justice urged for a prison sentence, emphasizing the widespread nature of Schubarth’s illegal breeding operation, which spanned multiple states and posed a risk to other wildlife. The crime, she argued, involved substantial premeditation, was complex, and encompassed numerous illegal actions.
Schubarth operates Sun River Enterprises LLC, a 215-acre alternative livestock ranch specializing in the buying, selling, and breeding of “alternative livestock” such as mountain sheep, mountain goats, and ungulates, predominantly for private hunting preserves where individuals can hunt captive trophy game animals for a fee. Schubarth has been in the game farm business since 1987.
In March, Schubarth pleaded guilty to charges that he and five others conspired to use tissue from a Marco Polo sheep illegally imported to the U.S. to clone the animal. They then used the clone and its descendants to create a larger, hybrid sheep species for captive hunting operations.
Marco Polo sheep, the largest in the world, can weigh up to 300 pounds and have curled horns measuring up to five feet. Court records revealed Schubarth sold semen from MMK and hybrid sheep to three individuals in Texas, while a Minnesota resident had 74 sheep inseminated at Schubarth’s ranch during the conspiracy. Schubarth sold a direct offspring from MMK for $10,000 and other sheep with lesser MMK genetics for smaller amounts.
The total value of the implicated animals ranged between $250,000 to $550,000. Hybrid sheep were also sold to buyers in Alabama, Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, Oregon, South Dakota, and West Virginia.
In October 2019, Schubarth paid a hunting guide $400 for the testicles of a trophy-sized Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep harvested in Montana, then extracted and sold the semen. Additionally, breeds banned in Montana, including 43 sheep from Texas, were part of the conspiracy.
“You were so focused on getting around those rules you got off track,” Judge Morris told Schubarth.
Holden requested reduced restitution, noting Schubarth’s care for the hybrid sheep on his ranch until they could be slaughtered and the meat donated to a food bank. Judge Morris ordered the remaining hybrid sheep with Marco Polo DNA to be sent to slaughter by the year’s end, with the meat donated as well. Schubarth was given until December 2025 to sell his Rocky Mountain bighorn hybrid sheep.
During his three-year probation, Schubarth is barred from breeding game stock. His plea agreement also mandates complete cooperation with prosecutors and potentially testifying if needed. The case remains under investigation, according to Montana wildlife officials.
In a letter attached to the sentencing memo, Schubarth expressed his deep regret, stating that his intense passion for his “sheep project” led him to search for legal grey areas, ultimately clouding his judgment and causing financial ruin for his family.
