Arthur “Jack” Schubarth, 80, of Vaughn, pleaded guilty on March 12 to two felony wildlife crimes in federal court.

Schubarth, the owner and operator of Sun River Enterprises LLC, also known as Schubarth Ranch, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to violate the Lacey Act and violating the Lacey Act, as part of a nearly decade-long effort to create giant sheep hybrids in the U.S. to sell to captive hunting facilities, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Montana.

Schubarth’s ranch is a 215-acre alternative livestock ranch in Vaughn and is engaged in the purchase, sale and breeding of “alternative livestock” such as mountain sheep, mountain goats and various ungulates. The primary market for Schubarth’s livestock is captive hunting operations, also known as shooting preserves or game ranches, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Vaughn man charged in federal court for illegal sheep breeding

Schubarth is accused of conspiring with at least five other individuals between 2013 and 2021 to create a larger hybrid species of sheep that would garner higher prices from shooting preserves, according to court documents.

He brought parts of the largest sheep in the world, Marco Polo argali sheep, ovis ammon polii, from Kyrgyzstan into the U.S. without declaring the importation in violation of federal law.

Average males can weigh more than 300 pounds with horns that span more than five feet.

Marco Polo argali are native to the high elevations of the Pamir region of Central Asia and are protected internationally by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, domestically by the U.S. Endangered Species Act and are prohibited in the State of Montana to protect native sheep from disease and hybridization, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Schubarth sent genetic material from the argali parts to a lab to create cloned embryos and then implanted those embryos in ewes on his ranch, resulting in a single, pure genetic male Marco Polo argali that he named “Montana Mountain King” or MMK.

According to court documents, Schubarth worked with the other unnamed coconspirators to use MMK’s semen to artificially impregnate various other species of ewes, all of which were prohibited in Montana, and create hybrid animals. Their goal was to create a larger and more valuable species of sheep to sell to captive hunting facilities, primarily in Texas, prosecutors allege.

To move the prohibited sheep into and out of Montana, Schubarth and others forged veterinary inspection certificates, falsely claiming that the sheep were legally permitted species. On occasion, Schubarth sold MMK semen directly to sheep breeders in other states.

Schubarth illegally obtained genetic material from wild-hunted Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep in Montana in violation of state law, which prohibits the sale of game animal parts within the state and prohibits the use of Montana game animals on alternative livestock ranches. Schubarth transported and sold the bighorn parts in interstate commerce, according to court documents.

“This was an audacious scheme to create massive hybrid sheep species to be sold and hunted as trophies,” Asst. Attorney General Todd Kim of the Justice Department’s environment and natural resources division, said in a release. “In pursuit of this scheme, Schubarth violated international law and the Lacey Act, both of which protect the viability and health of native populations of animals.”

“The kind of crime we uncovered here could threaten the integrity of our wildlife species in Montana,” Ron Howell, chief of enforcement for Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, said in a release. “This was a complex case and the partnership between us and U.S Fish and Wildlife Service was critical in solving it.”

The Lacey Act prohibits interstate trade in wildlife that has been taken, possessed, transported or sold in violation of federal or state law. The Lacey Act also prohibits the interstate sale of wildlife that has been falsely labeled. The law is a tool to combat wildlife trafficking and prevent ecological invasion by injurious wildlife in the U.S.

For each felony count, Schubarth faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000 and three years of supervised release.

Schubarth is scheduled to be sentenced on July 11 by Chief U.S. District Court Judge Brian M. Morris for the District of Montana.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Montana FWP are investigating the case.