A Montana Bighorn Sheep Hunt Led To A Very Strange Wildlife Crime

Montana Hunting Guide Fined $20,000 In Bizarre Bighorn Sheep Case

I don't even know where to begin with this story because every new detail seems to make it a little stranger, but it seems a hunting guide has been fined $20,000 after collecting and selling the testicles of a trophy bighorn sheep harvested during a guided hunt.

And those testicles didn't end up at just any ranch. They were sold to a Montana ranch connected to one of the state's strangest illegal wildlife breeding operations.

Montana Hunting Guide Sold Bighorn Sheep Testicles to Vaughn Ranch

NBC Montana reports that John Lewton was sentenced in federal court in Billings on October 20 after pleading guilty to violating the federal Lacey Act.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Lewton guided a client on a bighorn sheep hunt on public land in October 2019. After the client harvested a trophy-sized ram, Lewton collected the animal's testicles and sold them to an alternative livestock ranch in Vaughn owned by Jack Schubarth.

You might remember Schubarth's name from a few years ago when he made national headlines after investigators uncovered his efforts to create giant hybrid sheep using genetics from illegally imported Marco Polo sheep.

Schubarth was sentenced to six months in federal prison in 2024 for his role in the operation. Th involved illegally importing genetic material, cloning sheep, and breeding hybrids intended for captive hunting facilities. The Daily Montanan covered that case here.

Canva

Montana Hunting Guide Gets $20,000 Fine And One Year Of Probation

The Department of Justice also revealed that Schubarth's operation involved obtaining reproductive material from trophy-sized wild Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep to use in his breeding program. You can read the federal government's breakdown of that case here.

On top of the $20,000 fine, Lewton was sentenced to one year of probation. During that time, he's prohibited from taking part in commercial hunting, fishing, trapping, or outfitting activities, or accompanying anyone else involved in those activities.

Montana wildlife officials have warned that illegally moving wildlife and genetic material can create serious risks for native populations. Bighorn sheep are especially vulnerable to disease outbreaks, which is why controlling the movement of animals and their genetic material is so important.