Creativity shouldn’t be a crime. But an elderly Montana man has been sentenced to six months in prison, and ordered to pay $24,000, just because he created giant hybrid sheep that would be great to hunt.
“An 81-year-old Montana man was sentenced on Monday to six months in federal prison for illegally using tissue and testicles from large sheep hunted in central Asia and the US to create hybrid sheep for captive trophy hunting in Texas and Minnesota,” reports The Guardian.
Beginning in 2013, Arthur Schubarth and five others launched plans to create “giant sheep hybrids” by cross-breeding species. They hoped to reap high prices for their hybrids from hunting preserves where hunters shoot 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’…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.”
A federal judge weighed various factors in coming up with a 6-month sentence for Schubarth, who lives in Vaughn, Montana. Judge Brian Morris “said he weighed Schubarth’s age and lack of a criminal record with a sentence that would deter anyone else from trying to ‘change the genetic makeup of the creatures’ on the Earth.”
“Morris also fined Schubarth $20,000 and ordered him to make a $4,000 payment to the US Fish and Wildlife Foundation. Schubarth will be allowed to self-report to a federal bureau of prisons medical facility,” reports The Guardian.
Schubarth’s lawyer, Jason Holden, asked the judge to give Schubarth nothing more than probation, because Schubarth was a hard-working man who has always cared for animals.
The Montana Mountain King sheep produced by Schubarth has been confiscated by US Fish and Wildlife Services and is being held in an accredited facility until it can be transferred to a zoo.
Sarah Brown, a Justice Department lawyer, asked the court to send Schubarth to prison, saying his illegal breeding operation was widespread, involved other states, required forethought, was complex and involved many illegal acts.
Schubarth owns and operates a 215-acre alternative livestock ranch, which buys, sells and breeds “alternative livestock” such as mountain sheep and mountain goats, mostly for private hunting preserves, where people shoot captive trophy game animals for a fee. He has been in the game farm business for 37 years.
Marco Polo sheep are the biggest sheep on Earth, weighing in at up to 300 pounds, and possess curled horns up to 5 feet in length.
Changing creatures’ genetic makeup can make the world better.
A genetically-modified chicken was recently produced. It lays eggs that people allergic to eggs can eat.
Genetic engineering recently produced pork that people who are allergic to pork can eat.
Genetically-engineered skin bacteria keep some mosquitoes away. Scientists have genetically engineered a fly species to eat more waste.
A genetically-engineered apple doesn’t turn brown when you slice it, the way most apples do.
Scientists have genetically engineered a cow that produces human insulin in its milk.
