John Lewton, a Montana resident, was sentenced Oct. 20 in federal court after pleading guilty to violating the federal Lacey Act involving the trafficking of wildlife.

Lewton was fined $20,000 and sentenced to one year of probation. As part of his probation, the court prohibited him from engaging in commercial hunting, fishing, trapping or outfitting activities for one year. He is also prohibited from accompanying others in the field who are engaged in commercial hunting, fishing, trapping or outfitting, according to Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks.

FWP on lookout for hybridized sheep escaped from Schubarth facility in Vaughn

In October 2019, Lewton guided a client on a bighorn sheep hunt on public land in Montana. During the hunt, the client harvested a trophy-sized wild bighorn sheep. Lewton subsequently collected the sheep’s testicles and sold them to an alternative livestock ranch in Vaughn owned by Jack Schubarth.

Montana law prohibits the collection and sale of reproductive material from the wild bighorn sheep, according to FWP.

“Montanans have worked hard to protect the wildlife that we all cherish. The individuals in this case, driven by ego and greed, utilized every advantage and technology available to target our biggest and best wildlife,” Dirk Paulsen, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks warden investigator, said in a release.

Vaughn man sentenced to prison for illegal sheep breeding [2024]

Montana restricts the import and export of prohibited species, as well as the unlawful sale of wildlife and wildlife parts. These regulations help prevent the introduction and spread of disease and protect the state’s native wildlife populations, according to FWP.

Bighorn sheep populations are particularly vulnerable to disease-related die-offs, and introducing prohibited species or their genetic material into the state can pose significant risks to Montana’s wild sheep.

FWP warden investigator Bryan Golie has worked on the case since 2020.

“It’s a sad thing to see how these wild sheep genetics were stolen from our citizens, to ultimately end up being sold to out-of-state high-fenced shooter farms for nothing more than a profit and a trophy on the wall,” Golie said in a release.

In September, FWP wardens cited Schubarth for failing to secure a gate that allowed a hybrid bighorn sheep ewe to escape and for failing to report that escape. That case is pending in local Justice Court.

In 2024, Schubarth was sentenced to six months in federal prison for committing two felony wildlife crimes after pleding guilty to a conspiracy to violate the Lacey Act and substantively violating the Lacey Act as part of an almost decade-long effort to create giant sheep hybrids in the U.S. with an aim to sell the species to captive hunting facilities.

He was also ordered to pay a $20,000 fine to the Lacey Act Reward Fund, a $4,000 payment to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and a $200 special assessment.

Vaughn man pleads guilty to federal wildlife crimes [2024]

Schubarth is the owner and operator of Sun River Enterprises LLC, also known as Schubarth Ranch, which is a 215-acre alternative livestock ranch in Vaughn.

The Schubarth Ranch 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.

The Schubarth family also owns Jack’s Pet Center in downtown Great Falls.