Rancher, 80, pleads guilty in scheme to create 'giant sheep hybrids'

The Montana man allegedly bought certain sheep internationally to create a larger species for captive hunters in the U.S.

An 80-year-old Montana rancher has pleaded guilty to felony charges stemming from his role in an almost decade-long scheme to create "giant sheep hybrids," the Department of Justice said Tuesday.

Arthur "Jack" Schubarth facilitated the crimes through his Schubarth Ranch, a 215-acre "alternative livestock" property in Vaughn that he owned and operated, according to federal prosecutors. "Alternative livestock," the DOJ says, include mountain sheep, mountain goats and other hoofed animals that Schubarth was allegedly purchasing, selling and breeding at his ranch.

Court documents state that from 2013 to 2021 Schubarth conspired with at least five others to create another of these alternative species — in particular, a hybrid species of sheep that would garner higher prices from shooting preserves, also known as game ranches under the captive hunting umbrella.

To do this, prosecutors allege Schubarth imported parts of the world's largest sheep, known as the Marco Polo argali sheep, from Kyrgyzstan without declaring them upon entering the U.S. 

The large-horned species, regularly weighing more than 300 pounds, is protected internationally from trade and domestically under the U.S. Endangered Species Act, which categorizes it as threatened. The argali sheep is also prohibited in Montana to protect native sheep from disease and hybridization, the DOJ says.