An 81-year-old Montana man was sentenced to six months in federal prison for illegally cloning and creating a giant hybrid sheep, according to the guardian.

Arthur “Jack” Schubarth was arrested for conspiring with five others to use tissue and testicles from Marco Polo sheep that had been brought illegally in the United States to produce a larger hybrid sheep.

The hybrid sheep were intended for captive trophy hunting in Texas and Minnesota. Marco Polo sheep are the largest in the world, weighing up to 300 pounds, and the cloning process has created an even larger hybrid animal.

U.S. District Court Judge Brian Morris said he struggled to find an appropriate sentence for Schubarth. Morris took into account Schubarth’s age and lack of criminal record, combined with the need to impose a sentence that would prevent others from trying to “change the genetic makeup of creatures” on Earth.

Hybrid animals can often suffer from a myriad of health problems, including rapid growth and heart problems. National geographic. Another consequence of the creation of hybrid animals is the risk it represents for a endangered species.

Marco Polo sheep are already under threat extinction. Their hybridization could further endanger the animal due to genetic flood – an event in which the normal genetic makeup is replaced by the hybrid.

Schubarth, who pleaded guilty in March, was fined $20,000 and Morris ordered him to pay $4,000 to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Foundation. The hybrid sheep was confiscated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and will be held until it can be transported to a zoo.

Jason Holden, Schubarth’s lawyer, said committing this cloning this act ruined his client’s “life, reputation and family.” Holden only asked for a sentence of probation because Schubarth was a hardworking man who had taken care of animals in the past.

Sarah Brown, a lawyer for the U.S. Department of Justice, asked for a prison sentence. Brown cited that Schubarth’s illegal breeding operation was widespread, involved foresight and included numerous illegal acts.

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Brown also noted that Schubarth’s crime endangered the welfare of other wildlife.

“This case illustrates the serious threat that wildlife trafficking poses to our native species and ecosystems,” said Deputy Director Edward Grace of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Office of Law Enforcement, according to the US Department of Justice. “Mr. Schubarth’s actions not only violated several laws intended to protect wildlife, but also risked introducing disease and compromising the genetic integrity of our wild sheep populations.”

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