US rancher jailed for trying to create giant hybrid sheep

A Montana rancher, Arthur “Jack” Schubarth, has been sentenced to six months in prison for attempting to create giant hybrid sheep for captive hunting, after pleading guilty to violating federal environmental laws in the United States. Schubarth, 80, was charged with conspiring to clone and hybridize a protected species, which has generated outrage among the authorities.

The rancher’s plan began with the importation of genetic material from the argali, a subspecies of sheep known as Marco Polo ram which lives in the Asian mountains and is the largest sheep in the world. This species is protected by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) and by US law.

Schubarth sent the genetic material to a laboratory specialized in cloning, where sheep embryos were created. With the material obtained, the rancher inseminated sheep on his ranch in Montana to produce hybrids for sale in hunting preserves, an illegal practice in that state.

The United States Department of Justice explained that Schubarth and his collaborators they falsified documents health services to facilitate the distribution of these hybrids to different buyers in other states. Additionally, they sold samples of the cloned ram’s sperm to maximize their profits.

Despite the seriousness of the crimes, the six-month prison sentence was influenced by the advanced age of the accused and his lack of criminal record, according to the AP agency. In addition, the rancher must pay $24,000 in fines to various environmental institutions, including the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.

The Lacey Act, which regulates the importation of protected species, was the legal basis for Schubarth’s conviction. Although his plan involved the cloning and hybridization of species, The prosecution focused on wildlife trafficking and document falsification.

The authorities have expressed their rejection of the creation of hybrids, calling these practices “unnatural.” The sentencing judge stressed the need to discourage other people from “genetically altering animals,” while the prosecutor in the case argued that Schubarth’s actions were not only illegal, but contrary to environmental ethics.