He literally succeeded in performing a literal cloning of a complex mammalian subject? How rich is this guy, how well-staffed his lab, how is he achieving things that state-level labs struggle to do?<p>I am unsure whether I believe that this was an actual cloning, and not just some sort of old-fashioned hybridization or something. Because this guy should be awarded a science medal instead. What really is the legal issue with creating your own mammals just to be held captive and hunted for food?<p>It seems weird, but unsurprising, they'd throw the book at him, and make an example of him, lest someone else strike out on their own with such a complex biomedical challenge!
Related <i>Montana Man Pleads to Federal Charges for Efforts to Create Giant Hybrid Sheep</i> (26 points, 7 months ago, 76 comments) <a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39693368">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39693368</a>
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/mar/13/montana-rancher-tissue-testicles-giant-hybrid-sheep" rel="nofollow">https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/mar/13/montana-ranc...</a><p>Better explaination of actual charges.
It states “his illegal breeding operation was widespread, involved other states and endangered the health of other wildlife”… I bet the cloning/hybrid animal is only the headline piece and there is way more to the story than is let on. Perhaps a ‘Tiger King’ of sorts?..
Makes me want to clone sheep and cows and chickens and release them in Montana… just in protest for sending an old man who admits his guilt and pays the price to prison.
It's a bit difficult to figure out what specifically the guy was being arrested for and I had to re-read the article 2-3 times.<p>Looks like the main charges are due to violating the Lacey Act multiple times - shipping the hybrid sheep domestically while labelling them as "pure" sheep, while also conspiring to import embryos/sperm of the Marco Polo Goat (central asian) goat, also illegal without permits/procedures.<p>If the guy was younger, I'd assume he'd be getting at least football numbers in prison given how long the business was running, etc.
I thought that the person's age was often taken into account? I think it's silly to put someone 6mos in jail for creating a hybrid, but it's even worse when we're talking about a 81yo.
I don’t understand what makes this dangerous or criminal, when private enterprises seem to be able to do whatever they want when they create genetically modified organisms and pair it with pesticides with unknown environmental impacts that are sprayed across big portions of the country.