A Montana man who concocted an elaborate plot to assimilate a large herd of foreign sheep will spend time behind bars for his bad behavior.
Arthur “Jack” Schubarth was sentenced to six months in prison on Monday, and will also pay a $24,200 fine. The plan involved importing parts of an endangered, illegal breed of Asian sheep, which Schubarth used to clone them. Marco Polo’s argali sheepOvis ammon polii) they’re the biggest sheep in the world, and they’re getting big—very big. Males can weigh up to 136 kilograms, with horns up to 1.5 meters long. Schubarth’s plan was not to create a woolen sweater empire. Instead, he wanted to create a new breed of sheep that was even bigger, just to kill them.
While human trafficking is illegal in the United States, the same is not true for animals. Schubarth’s crime was more about obtaining and distributing the genetic material used in cloning than cloning itself. In March, Schubarth pleaded guilty to two counts: conspiracy to violate the Lacey Act and violating the Lacey Act. The Lacey Act, enacted in 1900, regulates the importation of wild animals that may be harmful to humans, agriculture, or the wildlife of the United States.
According to the Justice Department report announcing the sentence, Schubarth, along with at least five other people, imported parts of Marco Polo into the US from Kyrgyzstan, without declaring them. One of those conspirators may have been Schubarth’s son. According to a sentencing memo filed by prosecutors, Schubarth’s son went to Kyrgyzstan in 2013, killed an argali sheep, and returned with “functional tissue” to be assembled. Between 2013 and 2021, the team used a genetics lab to create cloned embryos from that tissue. That led to the creation of one male argali sheep, which Schubarth named Montana Mountain King, or MMK.
Schubarth and his breeders then extracted sperm from Montana Mountain, which they used to impregnate the females of other sheep, which were also illegal to keep in Montana, creating a hybrid. The goal, the Justice Department said, was to create a new, larger breed of sheep to be sold on captive hunting grounds, which were mostly found in Texas.
As strange as it sounds, the plan worked—at least, until Schubarth was caught. Large mammal sheep were shipped in and out of Montana, using fake animal inspection certificates. Schubarth sold MMK semen to other farmers. In total, illegal sales were terminated to customers in 12 states.
“It was not a sudden or unexpected crime,” prosecutors wrote in the sentencing letter. “It was a knowing, organized crime that Schubarth committed, despite knowing that his actions violated state and federal law.”
“Schubarth not only violated federal and state law and international agreements, but he and others formed an illegal conspiracy to conceal their actions from authorities,” said Department of Justice Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim. “Violation of the Lacey Act, CITES and other laws can be a serious threat to our wildlife habitats, which is why we are unwavering in our commitment to enforcement.”
In case you’re wondering why Marco Polos are illegal in the United States, it’s not because of concerns that they might scare other, smaller breeds. The Department of Justice said Schubarth’s program put native sheep at risk of disease, and two sheep that passed through Schubarth’s farm at the time in question died of Johne’s disease, an infectious wasting disease. We don’t know if the prospect of exterminating native sheep species left Schubarth feeling like a sheep.
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