Montana Outfitter Fined $20,000 for Selling Bighorn Ram Testicles to Sheep Breeder

A GearJunkie opinion piece reports that a Montana outfitter was sentenced in federal court for selling the testicles of a bighorn ram, legally taken by a client, to a breeder of oversized hybrid sheep for captive hunts.

Key points

• Sentence: October 20 in Billings: a $20,000 fine, one year of probation and a one-year ban on commercial guiding and outfitting.
• Charge: He pleaded guilty on May 14, 2026, to a federal Lacey Act trafficking charge because the sale broke state wildlife law. He earlier said the $400 he received was gas money.
• The hunt: The client's ram was taken in October 2019 on BLM-managed public land, and the hunt was legal.
• The buyer: He ran a breeding facility near Vaughn built around illegally imported Marco Polo argali genetics and a cloned ram, and was convicted of federal wildlife trafficking in 2024. GearJunkie notes the plea does not show how much the outfitter knew of that scheme.
• History: In 2011 the outfitter was convicted of filming commercially on National Forest land without a permit, which the Ninth Circuit upheld in 2014. That case also brought probation and a one-year commercial restriction.

Quick take

The GearJunkie writer argues the penalty is too light for a professional with a prior federal conviction. The piece raises concerns about hybrid genetics and disease reaching wild bighorns, while stating there is no evidence this sale caused either, and asks the Montana Outfitters and Guides Association what consequences should follow.

Read the full story at GearJunkie.