Remember the Old Guy That Illegally Smuggled, Cloned, and Bred a Giant Hybrid Sheep? He’s Heading to Prison.

If you’re still with us, that means you’ve made it to the middle of yet another week. We’ve added a few more sections to the newsletter as we continue to grow and keep all of you entertained for the best 5 minutes of your Wednesday and Friday mornings.

I hope y’all continue to enjoy what we put out there for you - be sure to let us know by participating in our surveys at the bottom of the email.

With that in mind, let’s all take a minute to grab a coffee or whiskey (no judgement) and get another mid-week dispatch out the door.

Here's what's worth reading about so far this week:

• We’ve got a breeder - Old man in sheep cloning scandal goes down 🧑‍⚖️

• The ol’ switcheroo - Ontario man busted for swapping tags 💰

• Tragic dispute - Three dead following dispute over hunting land 🙏

• We’ve got venison pizza - Yes, an Omaha pizzeria is going all out 🍕

• Fat bear week hits a snag - Thousands of people tuned in to watch a death match 🐻

• I’d give him more space - Hunter doesn’t leave enough trees between him and bull moose 😳

JURRASIC PARK SH*T
REMEMBER THE OLD GUY THAT ILLEGALLY SMUGGLED, CLONED, AND BRED A GIANT HYBRID SHEEP? HE’S HEADING TO PRISON

At the ripe age of 80 years old, Arthur “Jack” Schubarth broke the internet (at least in the hunting world) earlier this year when he was busted for importing foreign sheep parts, cloning embryos and eventually creating a giant sheep specimen he later named the “Montana Mountain King”.

And while the making of the Montana Mountain King, or MMK, was most certainly illegal, Schubarth made matters worse by selling additional cloned and bred giant sheep hybrids to captive hunting operations. With a pocket full of Lacey Act violations, the Feds wasted no time laying the smack down on Schubarth before he pleaded guilty in the U.S. District Court of Montana back in March.

For those needing a refresher in the case, court documents revealed that Shubarth and at least five other individuals conspired over nearly 10 years to illegally import parts from Marco Polo argali sheep from Kyrgyzstan, which they later used to create cloned embryos and implanted them into ewes on his ranch that then produced a pure male Marco Polo argali of his own - the MMK.

Now with a breeder on the ranch, he and his co-conspirators used the semen from their newly crowned King to spread the seed, artificially inseminating a group of illegal ewes.

And then he got caught…

💰 Northern Ontario man facing big fines after getting his Indigenous buddy claim he shot a big bull moose. With only a calf tag to his name, Timothy Junor of Echo Bay, Ontario couldn’t resist the sight of a pair of bull moose he encountered while hunting north of Sault Ste. Marie. According to reports, Junor spotted two bull moose running along a hillside and decided to take a shot at one. He then returned to a hunt camp located on Annie lake where he cut a deal with a member of the Indigenous community. The plan was to claim the moose was shot under their harvesting rights in an effort to cover up his illegal kill.

“Junor returned to the kill site with the Indigenous person, processed the moose and transported it back to the hunt camp,” said ministry officials.

“The following day, the Indigenous community member transported the moose to a butcher shop in Thessalon where they again claimed that they shot the bull moose under their Indigenous harvesting rights.”

Ontario conservation officers later conducted an investigation at the kill site, where fowl play was suspected. Junor was charged for the illegal event which took place in the fall of 2021 and was recently sentenced after pleading guilty to unlawfully hunting a bull moose without a license and was fined $12,000.

🙏 Three people killed in apparent dispute over hunting land. As if western South Carolina hadn’t gone through enough devastation over the past week or so, an unfortunate dispute has added to the local death toll. According to reports, deputies responded to reports of multiple people getting shot and later found three dead bodies on September 28 in the Woodruff area. 

The three men were later identified as 38-year-old Paul Higgins, 34-year-old Jeremy Faulkner and 22-year-old Nicolas Long. According to the Sheriff's office spokesman Lt. Kevin Bobo, witnesses were later separated and interviewed where they revealed that the shooting seemed to be the result of a dispute over hunting land. Arguing who had the permission to be on the property reportedly got heated and things quickly spiraled out of control.

The investigation remains active, and the sheriff’s office said more information will be released after a consultation with the solicitor’s office.

Hunting closed in certain areas in North Carolina to prevent exploitation following Hurricane Helene: The South Carolina Department of Natural Resources is implementing a temporary closure of hunting game in certain Lowcountry areas due to lasting impacts from Hurricane Helene. Read more at News2.

Pennsylvania hunter discovers hidden time capsule in old deer rifle: When the gunsmith in DuBois dismantled the gun, he discovered an old newspaper rolled up like a cigar, wooden matches and a strike pad inside the butt stock of the firearm. Read more at GoErie.

Wetland conditions across North Dakota vary for duck hunting: The southeast and northwest regions are 31% and 43% below average, respectively. The north central (up 84%), northeast (up more than 200%), and south central (up 26%) regions showed big improvements. Read more at Grand Forks Herald.

Texas biologists predict excellent deer hunting season amid CWD concern: White-Tailed Deer Program Leader Blaise Korzekwa says that more than half of the state experienced excellent habitat conditions this spring, “Specifically looking at the months of April, May, and June. Any rainfall received during those months is at the best time for the growing season as far as antler development, as well as fawn recruitment.” Read more at KACU.

Omaha pizzeria offering venison as a topping during deer season: “Many of our customers over the years have expressed an interest in venison, and it’s a pizza offering that we have never seen before in Omaha, or anywhere else for that matter,” he said. “So this year during deer season, we thought we would have some fun with it and see what our customers think.” Read more at WOWT.

Mother bear shot with pellet gun in Willits unlawfully killed, Colorado Parks and Wildlife documents say: A man was charged with allegedly unlawfully killing a mother black bear in a Willits neighborhood on Sept. 1. Documents obtained from Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) by The Aspen Times state that the sow was shot with a pellet gun, which punctured her lung. Read more at Aspen Times.

Squirrel and rabbit hunting seasons begin Saturday in Louisiana: The Louisiana squirrel and rabbit hunting seasons begin Saturday in all parts of Louisiana and run through Feb. 28, 2025, according to the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. Read more at WNGO.

CONTROVERSY // ^{_{THIS WEEK’S SH*T DISTURBER}}

“Fat Bear Week” gets delayed after a large bear kills a rival bear live on camera. If you haven’t heard of Fat Bear Week, let me give you a quick primer. Essentially, organizers have a number of cameras set up along the Brooks River in Alaska’s Katmai National Park & Preserve, allowing viewers an up close and personal encounter with these massive bruins as they tear away at salmon, and sometimes each other.

Fat Bear Week came along about 10 years ago and allows viewers to crown the season’s biggest gainer ahead of the hibernation cycle. As such, the event attracts hundreds of thousands of viewers, who got a bit more than they bargained for on Monday after a fight broke out between two bears and ended up with one face down in the river.

The fight broke out around 9:30 Monday morning just as the competition was set to kick off, when male bear 469 got into it with female bear 402. The two bears started fighting at the river’s mouth just as thousands were tuning in to see who’d put on the most weight. The lengthy battle ultimately resulted in bear 469 drowning his female opponent in the fast-moving river before dragging her body ashore where it was soon claimed by another rival boar known as 32 Chunk. 

“Very difficult to see. I mean, 402 is a beloved bear by each and every one of us,” Mike Fitz, the resident naturalist with webcam company Explore.org, said in a video.

Because of the violent encounter, organizers decided to delay the competition by a day.  You can watch the altercation here.

VIDEO // ^{_{SOME THINGS JUST HAVE TO BE SEEN}}

🫎 Watch as this Dude doesn’t put enough trees between him and a rutting moose.  When it comes to close encounters with massive animals, it doesn’t get much better than a big ol’ bull. This guy was lucky to escape…

Oh, and one more thing…