An 81-year-old man in Montana was sentenced to six months in federal prison for illegally cloning and creating a giant hybrid sheep, according to the Guardian.
Arthur "Jack" Schubarth was arrested for conspiring with five other people to use tissue and testicles from Marco Polo sheep that were illegally brought into the U.S. to make a larger hybrid sheep.
The hybrid sheep were intended for captive trophy hunting in Texas and Minnesota. Marco Polo sheep are the largest in the world, weighing up to 300 pounds, and the cloning process created an even larger hybrid animal.
U.S. district court judge Brian Morris said he had difficulty coming up with an appropriate sentence for Schubarth. Morris considered Schubarth's age and lack of a criminal record, combined with the need to impose a sentence that would stop others from trying to "change the genetic makeup of the creatures" on Earth.
Hybrid animals can often experience a myriad of health issues, including rapid growth and heart problems, per National Geographic. Another consequence of creating hybrid animals is the risk it poses to an endangered species.
Marco Polo sheep are already under threat of extinction. Hybridization of them could further endanger the animal due to genetic swamping — an occurrence in which the normal genetic makeup is replaced by the hybrid.
Schubarth, who pleaded guilty in March, was fined $20,000, and Morris ordered him to pay $4,000 to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Foundation. The hybrid sheep has been confiscated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and will be held until it can be transported to a zoo.
Jason Holden, Schubarth's attorney, said that committing this cloning act has ruined his client's "life, reputation, and family." Holden was seeking only a probationary sentence due to Schubarth being a hard-working man who had cared for animals in the past.
Sarah Brown, an attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice, asked for prison time. Brown cited that Schubarth's illegal breeding operation was widespread, involved forethought, and included many illegal acts.
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Brown also noted that Schubarth's crime endangered the well-being of other wildlife.
"This case exemplifies the serious threat that wildlife trafficking poses to our native species and ecosystems," said assistant director Edward Grace of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Office of Law Enforcement, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. "Mr. Schubarth's actions not only violated multiple laws designed to protect wildlife, but also risked introducing diseases and compromising the genetic integrity of our wild sheep populations."
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