Breeder who tried to create enormous trophy sheep jailed in US

A man who tried to breed enormous hybrid sheep using genetic material from endangered animals so he could sell them to trophy hunting ranches has been sentenced to six months in prison, the US Department of Justice said Monday.

Arthur Schubarth, 81, illegally imported parts of the world's largest species of sheep from Kyrgyzstan, which he used to create cloned embryos in the United States.

The resulting embryos were then implanted in ewes on his Montana ranch, resulting in the birth of a genetically pure Marco Polo argali, an endangered species that can weigh more than 300 pounds (135 kilograms) and has horns more than five feet (1.5 meters) wide.

Schubarth then used semen from this specimen to impregnate various species of sheep in an effort to create never-before-seen hybrids, with the goal of breeding even larger sheep.

He hoped to sell the resulting animals to "canned" hunting ranches, facilities where customers pay to shoot captive animals, and where bigger animals can command higher prices.

"Schubarth's criminal conduct is not how Montanans treat our wildlife population," said US Attorney Jesse Laslovich.

"Indeed, his actions threatened Montana's native wildlife species for no other reason than he and his co-conspirators wanted to make more money.

"Schubarth's greed drove their conspiracy to bring to Montana parts of the largest sheep in the world from Kyrgyzstan.

"Such actions to create hybrid animals are as unnatural as they are illegal."

Schubarth, whose ranch breeds and sells mountain sheep, mountain goats and other ungulates primarily for game ranches, admitted one count of conspiracy to violate the Lacey Act, and one of substantively violating the Lacey Act at an earlier hearing.

The Lacey Act prohibits interstate trade in certain wildlife and is used by authorities to combat wildlife trafficking.

In addition to his prison sentence, Schubarth was ordered to pay a $20,000 fine to the Lacey Act Reward Fund, a $4,000 payment to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and a $200 special assessment.