Last year, 81-year-old rancher Arthur 'Jack' Schubarth was sentenced to six months in prison.

His crime? An elaborate, multi-country conspiracy to smuggle in the tissue of a rare big horn sheep — clone it — and sell the offspring to hunters.

But how did we get to the point where such a scheme could be run out of an elderly rancher's backyard?

In episode one of Artificial Evolution, we trace the story of cloning from Dolly the sheep right through to the present day.

We discover the technology being used to clone horses right here in Australia — and find out whether Barbra Streisand's clones of her pet dog are anything like the original.

Artificial Evolution is a new four part series from Science Friction about how gene technologies are changing the world around us.

You can hear more episodes of Science Friction with journalist Peter de Kruijff about DNA, cloning, genetic modification and gene editing on the ABC listen app (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts.

Guests:

Matt Brown

Reporter, Associated Press

Professor Russell Bonduriansky

Evolutionary Ecologist, UNSW Sydney

John Farren-Price

Director, Catalina Equine

Karlene Hennig

Horse Manager, Catalina Equine

Dr Kim Fung

Principal Research Scientist, CSIRO

Credits:

• Presenter: Peter de Kruijff
• Producer: Fiona Pepper
• Senior Producer: James Bullen
• Sound Engineer: Angie Grant
• Archives Researcher: Lisa Chidlow

This story was made on the lands of the Gadigal, Whadjuk Noongar and Menang Noongar peoples.