XPost: alt.fan.states.montana, alt.fan.rush-limbaugh, sac.politics
XPost: alt.society.liberalism, alt.transgendered

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/mar/13/montana-rancher-tissue- testicles-giant-hybrid-sheep

A Montana rancher illegally used tissue and testicles from wild sheep
killed by hunters in central Asia and the US 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 years-long conspiracy, beginning in 2013, in
which Schubarth and at least five other people sought to create “giant
sheep hybrids” by cross-breeding 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.

The embryos were later implanted in a ewe, resulting in a pure Marco Polo argali sheep that Schubert named “Montana Mountain King”, the documents
show.

Semen from Montana Mountain King was used to artificially impregnate other
ewes to create a larger and more valuable species of sheep, including one offspring that he agreed to sell to two people in Texas for $10,000,
according to the documents.

Male argali sheep can top 300lbs with horns up to 5ft 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.

A person who was not named in court documents shipped 74 ewes of a
prohibited sheep species from Minnesota to Schubarth’s ranch to be
artificially inseminated with Montana Mountain King’s semen, the documents show. Offspring that had only a portion of the central Asian sheep’s
genetics sold for lesser amounts.

In 2019, Schubarth paid $400 to a hunting guide for testicles from a trophy-sized Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep killed in Montana. Schubarth extracted semen from the bighorn sheep’s testicles and used it to breed
large bighorn sheep and sheep crossbred with the argali species, the
documents show.

The assistant US attorney general Todd Kim described Schubarth’s actions
as “an audacious scheme to create massive hybrid sheep species to be sold
and hunted as trophies”. Kim said the defendant violated the Lacey Act
that restricts wildlife trafficking and prohibits the sale of falsely
labeled wildlife.

Schubarth said when reached by telephone on Wednesday that his attorney
had advised him not to talk about the case.

“I would love to talk about it, but can’t do it now,” he said.

His attorney, Jason Holden, did not immediately respond to telephone
messages seeking comment.

Authorities agreed under the terms of a plea deal not to pursue further
charges against the defendant pending his cooperation with the
government’s ongoing investigation in the wildlife trafficking case.

Montana Mountain King is in the custody of the US Fish and Wildlife
Service, according to Department of Justice spokesperson Matthew Nies. As
part of the plea deal, Schubert agreed to quarantine any other sheep
containing Marco Polo argali genetics and any bighorn sheep that had been harvested from the wild.

The deal also allows federal wildlife officials to inspect and, if needed, neuter the animals.

Captive animal facilities where game species can be raised and hunted were banned in Montana under a 2000 ballot initiative. But they remain legal in
some other states.

Schubarth’s 215-acre ranch is state-licensed as an alternative livestock facility, said Greg Lemon, a spokesperson for Montana fish, wildlife and
parks. It was allowed to remain when the 2000 ballot initiative passed and
has continued to operate, although hunting is prohibited, Lemon said.

Sentencing for Schubarth is set for 11 July before the US district judge
Brian Morris.


--
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No collusion - Special Counsel Robert Swan Mueller III, March 2019.
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Thank you for cleaning up the disaster of the 2008-2017 Obama / Biden
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Under Barack Obama's leadership, the United States of America became the
The World According To Garp. Obama sold out heterosexuals for Hollywood
queer liberal democrat donors.

President Trump boosted the economy, reduced illegal invasions, appointed dozens of judges and three SCOTUS justices.

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