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submitted 3 months ago by MicroWave@lemmy.world to c/news@lemmy.world

A Montana rancher illegally used tissue and testicles from wild sheep killed by hunters in central Asia and the U.S. to breed “giant” hybrid sheep for sale to private hunting preserves in Texas, according to court documents and federal prosecutors.

Arthur “Jack” Schubarth, 80, of Vaughn, Montana pleaded guilty to felony charges of wildlife trafficking and conspiracy to traffic wildlife during an appearance Tuesday before a federal judge in Great Falls. Each count carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Court documents describe a yearslong conspiracy, beginning in 2013, in which Schubarth and at least five other people sought to create “giant sheep hybrids” by cross-breeding different species. Their goal was to garner high prices from hunting preserves where people shoot captive trophy game animals for a fee.

Using biological tissue obtained from a hunter who killed a wild sheep in Kyrgyzstan belonging to the world’s largest species of the animals — Marco Polo argali sheep — Schubarth procured cloned embryos of the animal from a lab, according to court documents.

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[-] Ajen@sh.itjust.works 1 points 3 months ago

You didn't read the article, did you?

[-] INeedMana@lemmy.world 1 points 3 months ago

I did. I don't get how the creation of the breed was the illegal part and not the creating "shooting range"

[-] Ajen@sh.itjust.works 2 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

From the article:

Male argali sheep can top 300 pounds with horns up to 5 feet long, according to officials, making them prized among some hunters. They are protected under international convention as a threatened species and outlawed for import into Montana to protect native sheep from disease and hybridization.

It doesn't matter that they wanted to shoot the hybrids. They could have been making a petting zoo and it would have still been illegal.

this post was submitted on 14 Mar 2024
136 points (95.3% liked)

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