Montana Man Pleads Guilty in Scheme to Develop Giant Hybrid Sheep for Captive Hunting

A Montana man has pleaded guilty to two felony wildlife crimes – a conspiracy to violate the Lacey Act and substantively violating the Lacey Act – as part of a near decade-long scheme to create giant sheep hybrids with the goal of selling the trophy species to captive hunting ranches.

According to court documents, Arthur “Jack” Schubarth, 80, Vaughn, MT, conspired with at least five other individuals between 2013 and 2021 to create a larger hybrid species of sheep that would garner higher prices from those captive hunting ranches. He faces up to 10 years in prison and fines of up to $500,000.

Schubarth brought parts of the largest sheep in the world, Marco Polo argali sheep (Ovis ammon polii), from Kyrgyzstan into the United States without declaring the importation. Marco Polo argali are native to the high elevations of the Pamir region of Central Asia. They are protected internationally by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, domestically by the U.S. Endangered Species Act and are prohibited in the State of Montana to protect native sheep from disease and hybridization.

Schubarth owns and operates Sun River Enterprises LLC, a.k.a. Schubarth Ranch, which is a 215-acre alternative livestock ranch. Schubarth’s business was breeding and selling various alternative livestock such as mountain sheep, mountain goats and various ungulates to captive hunting operations, otherwise known as shooting preserves or game ranches.

Schubarth sent genetic material from the Asian argali parts to a lab to create cloned embryos. He then implanted the embryos in ewes on his ranch, resulting in a single, pure genetic male Marco Polo argali that he named “Montana Mountain King” or MMK. The unnamed coconspirators then used MMK semen to impregnate various other species of ewes – all of which were prohibited in Montana – to create hybrid animals. Their goal was to create a larger and more valuable species of sheep to sell to captive hunting facilities, primarily in Texas.

To move the prohibited sheep into and out of Montana, Schubarth and others forged veterinary inspection certificates, falsely claiming that the sheep were legally permitted species. On occasion, Schubarth sold MMK semen directly to sheep breeders in other states.

“This was an audacious scheme to create massive hybrid sheep species to be sold and hunted as trophies,” said Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD). “In pursuit of this scheme, Schubarth violated international law and the Lacey Act, both of which protect the viability and health of native populations of animals.”

“The kind of crime we uncovered here could threaten the integrity of our wildlife species in Montana,” said Ron Howell, Chief of Enforcement for Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks (FWP). “This was a complex case and the partnership between us and U.S Fish and Wildlife Service was critical in solving it.”

The Lacey Act prohibits interstate trade in wildlife that has been taken, possessed, transported or sold in violation of federal or state law. The Lacey Act also prohibits the interstate sale of wildlife that has been falsely labeled. The Act is one of the most powerful tools the United States has to combat wildlife trafficking and prevent ecological invasion by injurious wildlife.

For each felony count, Schubarth faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000 and three years of supervised release. Schubarth is scheduled to be sentenced on July 11 by Chief U.S. District Court Judge Brian M. Morris for the District of Montana.