### Montana Man Sentenced to Prison for Cloning Scheme Involving Endangered Sheep

A Montana resident has been sentenced to six months in prison for a bizarre and illegal plot involving the cloning of an endangered species of sheep. Arthur "Jack" Schubarth, who orchestrated the scheme to clone Marco Polo argali sheep, will also be required to pay $24,200 in fines.

Schubarth's elaborate plan involved importing parts of these large central Asian sheep, known for their impressive size and long horns. Unlike conventional uses for sheep, Schubarth's intention was not to produce wool but rather to create a new, even larger breed of sheep, ultimately for hunting purposes.

Earlier this year in March, Schubarth pleaded guilty to two felonies: conspiracy to violate the Lacey Act and substantively violating the Lacey Act. The Lacey Act, implemented in 1900, governs the importation of wildlife that may be harmful to humans, agriculture, or native wildlife.

The United States Department of Justice revealed that Schubarth and his co-conspirators, including potentially his own son, had imported Marco Polo sheep parts from Kyrgyzstan without proper declaration. Reports indicate that Schubarth's son visited Kyrgyzstan in 2013, killed an argali sheep, and brought back viable tissue samples intended for cloning. Over nearly a decade, from 2013 to 2021, the group worked with a genetics lab to create cloned embryos, resulting in a single male named Montana Mountain King (MMK).

Schubarth didn't stop there. He extracted semen from MMK to impregnate females from other illegal sheep species, resulting in hybrids. His goal was to create a larger sheep species for sale to captive hunting facilities, primarily in Texas. The Justice Department stated that the scheme involved transporting these oversized sheep in and out of Montana using falsified veterinary inspection certificates. MMK's semen was sold to clients across 12 states.

“This was not a spur-of-the-moment act,” prosecutors emphasized in the sentencing memo. “It was a calculated and planned criminal activity that Schubarth knowingly undertook, breaching both state and federal laws.”

Justice Department Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim highlighted the risk to native populations. "Schubarth's actions damaged federal and state laws and international treaties, putting domestic wildlife populations at serious risk from disease," Kim stated. The potential spread of Johne's disease from sheep passing through Schubarth's ranch underscored the threat.

Ultimately, Schubarth’s operation was uncovered and halted, but not before it had endangered the local ecosystem and contravened numerous laws.