Wild West: rancher convicted of experimenting with testicles of Red Book animals

The criminal scheme worked for years

Arthur “Jack” Schubart, an 80-year-old farmer from Vaughn, Montana, pleaded guilty to felony wildlife trafficking charges. Court documents describe a decades-long conspiracy that began in 2013 in which Schubart and at least five others attempted to create “giant sheep hybrids” by crossing species.

A Montana rancher illegally used tissue and testicles from wild sheep killed by hunters in Central Asia and the United States to breed “giant” hybrid sheep for sale to private game preserves in Texas, according to court documents.

Arthur “Jack” Schubart pleaded guilty to the felony charge 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 decades-long conspiracy that began in 2013 in which Schubart and at least five others attempted to create “giant sheep hybrids” by crossing species. According to court documents, using biological tissue obtained from a hunter who killed a wild sheep in Kyrgyzstan belonging to the world’s largest animal species (Marco Polo argali), Schubart obtained cloned embryos of the animal in the laboratory.

The embryos were later implanted into a sheep, resulting in the pure Marco Polo argali, which Schubert called the “Mountain King of Montana”.

According to the documents, argali sperm was used to artificially inseminate other sheep to create a larger, more valuable breed of sheep, including one offspring that he agreed to sell to two people in Texas for $10,000.

Male argali can weigh more than 300 pounds and have antlers up to 5 feet long, making them valuable to some hunters, officials said. They are protected by international convention as an endangered species and are prohibited from being imported into Montana to protect native sheep from disease and hybridization.

The man, who was not named in court documents, sent 74 rams from Minnesota to the Schubart Ranch to be artificially inseminated with Montana Mountain King semen. Progeny containing only part of the Central Asian argali genetics were sold for lower amounts.

In 2019, Schubart paid a hunting guide $400 for Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep testicles. Schubart extracted sperm from bighorn sheep testicles and used it to breed large bighorn rams and sheep crossed with argali species, documents show.

Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim described Schubart’s actions as “a bold scheme to create a mass-produced breed of hybrid sheep for sale and trophy hunting.” Kim said the defendant violated the Lacey Act, which restricts wildlife trade and prohibits the sale of falsely labeled wildlife.

Authorities agreed under the terms of a plea deal not to press further charges against the defendant until he cooperates with the government’s wildlife trafficking investigation.

Montana Mountain King is in the custody of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Justice Department spokesman Matthew Nice said. As part of the plea deal, Schubart agreed to quarantine all other sheep containing Marco Polo argali genetics, as well as all wild-caught bighorn sheep.

The agreement also allows federal wildlife officials to test and, if necessary, neuter the animals.

Schubart will be sentenced July 11 before U.S. District Judge Brian Morris.