03-14-2024, 12:23 AM
This comes from the wildest of places.
Office of Public Affairs | Montana Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Wildlife Trafficking Charges as Part of Yearslong Effort to Create Giant Hybrid Sheep for Captive Hunting | United States Department of Justice
See wildest of places.
While he was cloning a species of Goat not available here in the US, the real issue I found was how he was doing this,
What's to stop a rich person from just cross breeding a gorilla and a human, or a wolf and a human using crisper technologies to build any cryptozoological creature they want? This guy has been caught, but those that he was working with are still out there with their bio-labs conducting this exact type of research. Sure, it would be a great boost to reintroduce animals like the Woolie Mammoth, or short face bear, but going off and creating an elite hunter's paradise in order to justify this type of research can backfire on local animal populations. Not to mention the "What If" factor of if these 300 pound goats got loose and invaded a town or even big city. We've seen poorly prepared law enforcement is when a cow gets loose on the highway, now image if that cow was an Auroch bull that was genetically engineered for hunting. The havoc that could happen.
How do you feel about this incident?
On one hand its good that research on this is being done, but on the other it really shouldn't be exploited given the reckless behavior of the public in general.
Office of Public Affairs | Montana Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Wildlife Trafficking Charges as Part of Yearslong Effort to Create Giant Hybrid Sheep for Captive Hunting | United States Department of Justice
See wildest of places.
Quote: A Montana man pleaded guilty today to two felony wildlife crimes – 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 United States with an aim to sell the species to captive hunting facilities.
Arthur “Jack” Schubarth, 80, of Vaughn, Montana, 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.
According to court documents, Schubarth conspired with at least five other individuals between 2013 and 2021 to create a larger hybrid species of sheep that would garner higher prices from shooting preserves. Schubarth brought parts of the largest sheep in the world, Marco Polo argali sheep (Ovis ammon polii), from Kyrgyzstan into the United States without declaring the importation. Average males can weigh more than 300 pounds with horns that span more than five feet. Marco Polo argali are native to the high elevations of the Pamir region of Central Asia. They are protected internationally by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, domestically by the U.S. Endangered Species Act and are prohibited in the State of Montana to protect native sheep from disease and hybridization.
While he was cloning a species of Goat not available here in the US, the real issue I found was how he was doing this,
Quote:
Court documents also describe how Schubarth illegally obtained genetic material from wild-hunted Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep in Montana. Schubarth purchased parts of these wild-hunted sheep in violation of Montana law, which prohibits the sale of game animal parts within the state and prohibits the use of Montana game animals on alternative livestock ranches. Schubarth transported and sold the bighorn parts in interstate commerce.
“This was an audacious scheme to create massive hybrid sheep species to be sold and hunted as trophies,” said Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD). “In pursuit of this scheme, Schubarth violated international law and the Lacey Act, both of which protect the viability and health of native populations of animals.”
“The kind of crime we uncovered here could threaten the integrity of our wildlife species in Montana,” said Ron Howell, Chief of Enforcement for Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks (FWP). “This was a complex case and the partnership between us and U.S Fish and Wildlife Service was critical in solving it.”
What's to stop a rich person from just cross breeding a gorilla and a human, or a wolf and a human using crisper technologies to build any cryptozoological creature they want? This guy has been caught, but those that he was working with are still out there with their bio-labs conducting this exact type of research. Sure, it would be a great boost to reintroduce animals like the Woolie Mammoth, or short face bear, but going off and creating an elite hunter's paradise in order to justify this type of research can backfire on local animal populations. Not to mention the "What If" factor of if these 300 pound goats got loose and invaded a town or even big city. We've seen poorly prepared law enforcement is when a cow gets loose on the highway, now image if that cow was an Auroch bull that was genetically engineered for hunting. The havoc that could happen.
How do you feel about this incident?
On one hand its good that research on this is being done, but on the other it really shouldn't be exploited given the reckless behavior of the public in general.
