Man, 81, sentenced to 6 months in prison for trying to create giant hybrid species of wild sheep
An 81-year-old rancher from Montana, US recently caught the attention of quite literally everyone after it was revealed that he spent the past decade harvesting parts from protected wildlife to create a giant hybrid species of wild sheep. But it doesn’t stop there. He then planned on selling across the country for a premium price. Arthur Schubarth has now been sentenced to six months in federal prison for his Shaun the Sheep shenanigans.
According to The New York Times, Schubarth illegally used tissue from a Marco Polo argali sheep from Central Asia and the testicles of a bighorn sheep native to the Rocky Mountains to make large hybrids of sheep that he could sell at high prices to shooting preserves.
The scheme allegedly began in 2013, shortly after a Montana livestock worker returned to the US from Kyrgyzstan and delivered tissue from the Marco Polo argali sheep to Schubarth. Prosecutors later explained that, for nearly a decade up until 2021, Schubarth illegally used this tissue, which is banned in Montana, to create the new mammoth species.
The Associated Press also revealed that part of Schubarth’s motivation for creating this hybrid sheep was so that he could sell the sheep at an extortionate price for captive trophy hunting in Texas and Minnesota.
The scheme was discovered by authorities after they learned that he was using forged veterinary inspection certificates to move sheep in and out of Montana.
The judge allocated to Schubarth’s case explained how it was extremely difficult to come up with a sentence for the defendant. US District Court Judge Brian Morris stated that he weighed Schubarth’s age and clean criminal record, while also mentioning the need to impose a sentence that would deter anyone else from trying to “change the genetic makeup of the creatures” on earth.
Speaking to the judge and the court, the 81-year-old announced: “I will have to work the rest of my life to repair everything I’ve done.” Indeed, amplifying his client’s emotions, Schubarth’s attorney, Jason Holden, noted how deciding to clone the giant Marco Polo sheep had ruined his client’s “life, reputation and family.” “I think this has broken him,” Holden continued.
Some users on social media definitely felt as though the sentencing was unfair and indeed questioned whether or not what Schubarth had done was even a legitimate crime:
That being said, the fact that Schubarth’s primary motivation for the experiment was concerning captive trophy hunting understandably didn’t go down too well with some netizens:
Either way, it’s fair to say that Schubarth has definitely made his mark on the livestock world. Also, one second to remember the first-ever sheep clone, Dolly… May she rest in peace.
