Male argali sheep can top 136kg with horns up to 1.5m 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 hybridisation.
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 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 US$400 (NZ$648) to a hunting guide for testicles from a trophy-sized Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep killed in Montana. Schubarth extracted semen from bighorn sheep testicles and used it to breed large bighorn sheep and sheep crossbred with the argali species, the documents show.
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 which 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 in the Government’s ongoing investigation of 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 were 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 87-hectare ranch is state-licensed as an alternative livestock facility, said Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks spokesperson Greg Lemon. It was grandfathered in when the 2000 ballot initiative passed and has continued to operate, although hunting is prohibited, Lemon said.
Sentencing for Schubarth is set for July 11 before US District Judge Brian Morris.