Arthur “Jack” Schubarth, an 81-year-old breeder in Montana, has been sentenced to six months in jail and fined $20,000 for illegally cloning a Marco Polo argali sheep and selling its offspring for trophy hunting.

Schubarth imported body parts from Kyrgyzstan to create cloned embryos, resulting in a male sheep named “Montana Mountain King” (MMK).

He used MMK to inseminate ewes, selling the hybrids to shooting preserves, where hunters pay to kill the animals.

Marco Polo argali are protected under international law, and their cloning in Montana is banned to safeguard native sheep and prevent hybrids, the BBC has reported.

Schubarth expressed regret over his actions, stating he had sought legal loopholes to enhance the sheep industry.

MMK will be relocated to a zoo.

Written by B.C. Begley