A Montana man has been sentenced to prison after the authorities say he was trying to breed a new, hybrid species of giant, wild sheep.
According to The Hill, 80-year-old Arthur "Jack" Schubarth will face six months in prison for his role in breeding the sheep with the intent of selling them to hunting facilities.
Schubarth was charged with two felonies regarding a violation of the Lacey Act, which according to the Department of Agriculture "is intended to combat the illegal trafficking of plants and animals."
The Department of Justice accused Schubarth of sending sheep's genetic material to a lab to clone embryos and then implanted them in ewes on his ranch. The DOJ says Schubarth and others used that animals' genetics to artificially impregnate "various other species of ewes," which are all banned in Montana, to "create hybrid animals."
Along with his prison sentence, Schubarth was 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.
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