The process of breeding animals on farms and offering them to hunters for a guaranteed kill in enclosed spaces is referred to as “canned hunting.”
A person who bred massive hybrid sheep using the genetic materials of endangered species in the United States and attempted to sell them to hunting farms has been charged with “wildlife” crimes.
Arthur Schubarth, an 80-year-old individual who raised sheep and goats for hunting farms where customers paid to shoot captive animals, could face up to 5 years in prison and a $250,000 fine if found guilty.
The suspect has admitted to the charges against him.
It was revealed that Schubarth illegally imported genetic materials of the world’s largest sheep species from Kyrgyzstan to the US, using them to create cloned embryos.
He then implanted these fetuses into sheep raised on his farm in the state of Montana, which is home to the Rocky Mountains.
As a result, a genetically pure sheep of the endangered “Marco Polo Argali” species weighing 135 kilograms and measuring 1.5 meters in length was born.
The habitat of the Argali is known as the mountainous regions of Central Asia, centered around Kyrgyzstan.
It was noted that Schubarth used sperm obtained from this specimen to fertilize various sheep species, aiming to produce unprecedented hybrid species and larger sheep.
He hoped to sell these massive animals to facilities known as “canned hunting farms,” where customers pay to shoot animals, with larger specimens fetching higher prices.
The process of breeding animals on farms and offering them to hunters for a guaranteed kill in enclosed spaces is referred to as “canned hunting.”
Deputy Attorney General Todd Kim from the Department of Justice’s Environmental and Natural Resources Division, who led the case, stated, “This was an audacious scheme to create massive hybrid sheep species for sale and hunting as trophies.”
Kim added, “In pursuing this scheme, Schubarth violated international law and the Lacey Act, which protects the vitality and health of native animal populations.”
