Until a few weeks ago, Wayne Pacelle was undecided whether he’d join the fray of lawsuits challenging the federal government’s decision to allow western states to continue managing gray wolves.
Then the news cycle spun toward Sublette County, where local resident Cody Roberts is accused of running down a wolf with a snowmobile on Feb. 29, capturing the critically wounded animal, taping its mouth shut, and showing it off in a bar for hours before finally killing it — actions that have thus far only earned Roberts a $250 fine.
Pacelle, a former CEO of the Humane Society of the United States, made up his mind.
“It was certainly a trigger for me,” he said. “We were thinking about it, and to me what [the incident] represented was everything that’s wrong with Wyoming’s handling of wolves.”
On Tuesday, Pacelle’s new employer, Washington, D.C.-based Animal Wellness Action, and five other groups notified the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service they intended to sue over wolf jurisdiction.
The advocacy organizations emphasized the now-infamous animal cruelty incident in a press release announcing their lawsuit. The official 20-page legal notice of intent to sue, however, only mentioned the event in a single paragraph. Kate Chupka Shultz, the attorney representing the groups, called what happened an example of “wanton and egregious cruelty not seen for decades.”
This wasn’t the first time the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recently learned it was being sued by groups that argue Northern Rockies wolves should regain Endangered Species Act protections. The federal agency, which denied petitions to list the species in February, has already been hit with a separate lawsuit brought by groups that notified the government of their intent immediately after the no-listing decision.
That 48-page complaint, brought on behalf of 10 western advocacy groups, does not mention the wolf incident in Daniel, which entered the news cycle a week before the document’s April 8 file date. Nevertheless, at least one of the plaintiffs believes that the global condemnation for what took place in rural western Wyoming could play a role in the case.
“One of the primary claims in our lawsuit is that Wyoming has inadequate regulatory mechanisms to keep wolves at healthy population levels,” Western Watersheds Project Executive Director Erik Molvar told WyoFile. “The crime that was committed by Cody Roberts is exhibit A, demonstrating that the state of Wyoming has no interest at all in protecting wolves.”
Otherwise, the lawsuit argues that the Fish and Wildlife Service relied on a “scientifically invalid” model assessing the viability of wolves in the Northern Rockies’ “distinct population segment” of wolves, he said. Another claim concerns smaller populations of wolves in states outside of Montana, Idaho and Wyoming.
The pending lawsuit from Animal Wellness Action and the other groups includes some overlapping claims. The notice of intent to sue charges that Fish and Wildlife ignored the best-available science and that “politics and socio-political sentiment” threaten “the species’ continued existence.” Another claim is that federal wildlife managers failed to analyze the “danger of” gray wolf “extinction in all or a significant portion of its range.”
Generally, western wolves have thrived since their reintroduction to Yellowstone National Park and the Idaho wilderness complex in the mid-1990s. Wyoming wolf populations have been stable, last estimated at the 314 animals, though the species is intentionally confined to the far northwest corner by the state’s predator-zone policy. Permissiveness for how wolves can be legally killed in this area — by virtually any method — factored into Game and Fish’s decision to cite Roberts only $250 for illegal possession of warm-blooded wildlife.
The Wyoming Game and Fish Commission has pushed back on arguments that the Daniel wolf incident says anything about the state’s suitability to manage wolves. “This incident, perpetrated by one individual, does not represent a failure in wildlife policy or management,” commissioners said in a statement.
Wolves are beneficial to the environment. They eat critters we don’t want, and add color to the forest experience. Protect them, as you would your own family.
Humans seem to have a problem with wildlife in general. Besides people complaining about wolves I also hear complaints about squirrels, racoons, deer, elk, spiders, bees, rabbits, prairie dogs, and the list goes on. Nature provides humans with food, clothing and shelter, yet we want to exterminate anything we consider to be a pest. The real pest in mankind. Humans have the ability to think and reason so you would think protection of resources would be a priority, and yet we have a complete disregard for everything that gives us life. Humans are the most ignorant species on the planet.
This is not an isolated incident with cody roberts. He represents the states attitude on wildlife management. You can not have a free for all on destroying animals and call it management. It’s an overall embarrassment to the US and how we view wildlife
Please sign the petition for justice
https://www.change.org/p/demand-felony-charges-against-cody-roberts-for-animal-cruelty
So who what organization can we donate money to support in order to fight this disgusting treatment of animals?
Time and time again Gray Wolf’s have been hunted with snowmobiles,chased till they run out of breath and shot dead or tortured not in the public eyes over last 2 decades! What Cody Robert’s did Absolutely Represents 100% how those politicians in power want there Gray Wolf’s managed and mentality shared among the hunting circles in Whyoming, it’s no secret Whyoming has a plan to Exterminate more than 60% of there Wolf population, Look I’m no freaking extremist I’m a common sense human that hates how Gray Wolfs have been treated for 100 years plus ! Feel lied to as a kid and want to see nothing less than Flat out Gray Wolf’s protected like are Bald Eagles are protected and Humans and Gray Wolf’s Coexist Farmers,Ranchers are Allowed to protect there livestock use leathal and or non leathal means to protect livestock However No More Massive Gray Wolf’s Hunts and major population decreases ! COEXIST WITH GRAY WOLFS HUMANS 🐾🐺🐾
Yes, you are an extremist. Go try to live with wolves.
It’s actually fairly simple to co-exist with apex predators. You just have to be active and aware ad not lazy.
What Cody Roberts did to this wolf on the trail where he rode his snowmobile, in his home and in the Green River Bar are inhumane, cruel and sadistic actions. Where I reside has no bearing on my disgust regarding this incident. What kind of a person does something like this and further what kind of people allow it to go on in their presence? Was this the first time he did something like this, I have my doubts. I don’t think we have to “get over this”. I think we need to address this and prevent it from happening going forward.
Lets not get carried away with what one guy did. Everyone can agree that it was wrong and was an incredibly stupid thing do do. However, the chances of this happening again are next to nothing. Mr. Roberts being able to run down a wolf on a snowmobile is a one in a million chance type of thing. Wolves aren’t exactly dumb, they are pretty good at avoiding danger.
I disagree with Hannah 110 percent on most of her view points though. The majority of Wyoming didn’t want wolves. However, if we have to have them we want control over management as compared to east and west coast liberals and D.C. politicians. Wyoming can clearly manage a healthy wolf population, and has demonstrated this over the recent past. Rather than look at things with the view point that 85 percent of Wyoming wolves are predatory animals and can be killed any time and any how, look at it this way, Yellowstone National Park is about 2,219,789 acres. Grand Teton National Park is 310,000 acres and the Wind River Indian Reservation is approximatley another 2.2 million acres. That is nealy 5 million acres where wolves are federally protected and can’t be killed. Throw in the trophy game hunting areas where wolves are protected the majority of the year, also where there is a mortality quota during the months they can be hunted you are talking well over 8 million acres where wolves are comletely protected or at least protected the majority of the year. If you don’t think Wyoming can manage a healthy population of wolves on over 8 million acres you are smoking to much east or west coast wacky weed. The reason the majority of the state is a predator area is to keep them from overrunning the entire state.
There is alot of public land in Wyoming, there is no doubt about that. However, there is also alot of private land in Wyoming. The predator zone within Wyoming are areas made up of large swaths of private land. In fact, there is an awlful lot of private land in the trophy game areas where landowners are being told to a certain degree what they can and can’t do with their private land. Private land owners don’t want large packs of wolves that is why we have a predator zone. Have you ever wondered why so many wolves are being killed in the predator zone and wandering as far south as Colorado, as far east as Gillette? We have way more wolves than what we want to admit and they have greatly overpopulated the greater yellowstone area. They are not leaving the protections of the greater Yellowstone area because they are dumb, they are leaving because they are overpopulated.
Like it or not the agriculture industry in Wyoming has some pull in state politics. However, maybe some of these folks know what they are talking about as far as living with wolves? I don’t see to many liberals in Laramie having to worry about their household pets getting attacked by wolves?
Ranchers do graze cattle on public land at pretty inexpensive rates. I know everyone is a proud “public land owner” but how many people realize what BLM land actually is? I’m sorry to break the news to you, but it is the garbage leftover which no one wanted to homestead back in the day. It is leased to landowners and livestock producers at a pretty inexpensive rate to graze cattle on because there is usually alot of improvements that need done in order to make it useable. Sure, your tax payer dollars sometimes pay for improvements but the majority of it is done by livestock producers. These livestock producers also operate under a ton of government oversight as well on federal lands.
The state of Wyoming has clearly shown they can properly manage a wolf population.
When something is wrong it’s wrong. Regardless of whether you live in Wyoming or in Socal. If you don’t want wolves, live in a city. You can’t expect to live in the wilderness and expunge wildlife at your preference.
And since wolves were only just removed from the endangered species act in January 2021, and returned management to the state level, no, I would not agree that Wyoming state has any capacity to manage effectively when the barbaric act of running a wolf over with a SNOWMOBILE as an approved hunting tactic. This is appalling.
Wolves are intelligent, sentient beings. This is not a one in a million incident, if it were, someone would have stopped this barbaric behavior. Someone would have saved that animal by taking it to the hospital. These people value or respect any life other than their own.
You don’t like liberals or DC politicians looking over your state? Tough, because 31% of your state budget is federally funded. I pay federal taxes, so if I want to poke my nose in Wyoming business, I will.
Doesn’t Wyoming have an overpopulation of elk? “Ballooning herds” of Elk that taxpayers must supplementally feed? Providing a natural eco system where wolves can thrive and co-exist with their natural prey will also address overpopulation of other animals, keeping the healthiest and strongest bloodlines. Instead, we have MAN hunting both elk and wolves, instead of letting nature establish balance. It makes little sense.
Wolves were on the endangered species list for 47 years. That is a long time. Ever wonder why? Human settlers targeted them for extermination for fear they would prey on livestock.
Sounds familiar doesn’t it? Wolves aren’t the problem, people are.
You are right on with your comments.
Have you ever heard of the term “shoot, shovel and shut up”? Torturing and murdering wolves seems to occur often enough for this to be a “known term”.
The state of Wyoming has shown itself incapable of self-governance in its wildlife control as well as its humane restraint.
“The chances are next to nothing”??? do you read? have you read the stats on how many animals are run over and killed with snowmobiles?? before you comment on something, do your homework, you need to be educated – this is called “whacking” and it’s been going on for years – encouraged supported and even cash and prizes – look it up.
You are so far away from any facts it’s almost laughable. All you people can do is try to make it sound like everyone commenting is from the big city and knows nothing about country life or ranch life.. Ridiculous. Your life is not a secret way of living in any sense of the word. You don’t want to be wrong, and you don’t want to coexist with nature. The ignorance is almost unnerving that in this day and age you act like you live in the 1700’s. public land is not for ranchers to privately own and rule over. Get a grip.
“You cannot believe how happy, pleased & satisfied I was to hear the latest news, progress & recognition about the WWI (Wyoming Wolf Incident) that happened on February 29, 2024 in Daniel, Wyoming. I will deligently continue to back any & all future new amended laws & movements that will aide our beloved “Wild & Free” American Wolves!!!” 🙂
I am so confused over how this man boasted over torturing and then killing an innocent animal. My wish is that he learns the hard way, through his pocket, at what an inhumane act. As a Native American I do not condone any type of torture for any living creature. I would like you to please follow this story. Animals need advocates.
You can be theirs.
How can I help? This is a disgrace to animal lovers and hunters. What can I do?
The penalty for the abuse this man caused is not nearly severe enough. The penalty for animal cruelty should be increased!!!
As a farmer who has lost livestock to predators I can sympathize with folks in Wyoming who feel a need to control predators. Death is part of the balance of nature and we are all alive at the expense of something else. BUT: killing is one thing…getting pleasure from inflicting pain on another living thing is totally different and totally unacceptable.
More should have been done.
What kind of person would defend the torture of any living creature. Wyomingans or what ever you call yourselves should educate yourselves there probably wouldnt be so many problems with the wolves who were there BEFORE you people took over their territories. If you dont like living with wolves then MOVE. They have every right to live and prosper on the land just like you do.
Education is the way to become powerful – large herds of elk and deer deplete the land of its resources for other animals to survive and thrive. Nature needs balance between predator and prey you of all people being “Native American” should know this better than anyone else. And torture of any living creature should be condemned on every level.
One idiot does a stupid, cruel thing, so now the powers that be want to punish every food producer in the state. Killing the wolf was almost as idiotic and introducing as raising wolves in meat producer country.
He should’ve been prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. It’s bad enough that humans have endulged in handling of the wolves…Let them be….Stop this madness and let them roam wherever they belong….We are already upset over the Red Wolves… Thank you and this is my opinion….He should be fined Much more….have a great Sunday.
These wolves need someone to care about how they are treated. These wild animals do not deserve to be hunted and tortured for the individuals to obtain pleasure by such horrific cruelty. We have to learn how to live are by side with wild life and not try to destroy something just because we don’t understand it. What was filmed in a bar in Wyoming just shows a small piece of what these wolves are subjected to. I can only imagine the horror and terror they are subjected to during these snowmobile hunts. How is it legal to run an animal down? It’s sick and barbaric treatment of wild life and it needs to stop.
This is definitely a failure of wildlife management. Hunting is hunting.
Torture is Torture. Two very different things.
Cody Roberts and the state of Wyoming need to be held accountable.
The laws need to change quickly before this gets swept under the rug by the “good old boys”.
It’s heartbreaking the heinous torture that these ‘predator’ species experience. Why isn’t man considered a predator? As an indigenous individual, all life matters and supports the health of our ecosystems. I pray the number of people joining this movement will create change in Wyoming and Idaho regarding their archaic policies.
Thanks for the info, but I need more updates on the investigation of animal cruelty against Cody Roberts. If he is not imprisoned, then what is the point of this? To be disgusted and then move on to the next story? Stay on Cody R please.
Killing wolves to protect your livelihood should be a difficult but necessary decision. A slow cruel horrible death at the hands of this man with plenty of support from his friends cheering him on is incomprehensible.
Whether wolves should be managed or not, the simple fact is torture of anything is wrong. So manage wolves but choose to do it responsible. These are lives we’re talking about and even though they’re not our pets, we still have a responsibility as humans to treat them with respect. If you’re gonna put your dog down, you wouldn’t go out in the backyard and torture it for five hours first So why would you allow that for any other animal?
Wyoming has clearly dropped the ball in managing wildlife humanely. Being able to torture animals, chase after them to exhaustion in snowmobiles for amusement, then kill them in whatever way that amuses the sadist needs to stop. This needs to be managed at a Federal level. Residents need to understand that wolves are a part of the ecosystem.
Unfortunately, all this will lead to those who want wolves gone from the landscape to reverting to the old s-s-s tactics: shoot, shovel and shut up! Better management by livestock producers, use of non-lethal methods to protect livestock and realization of the importance of predators to the environment along with scientifically based laws are needed to allow wolves their proper place in nature. While there is also a need for compensation for livestock lost to predators and the removal of those animals that routinely find their meals in ranchers’ herds, the “predator kill any way you want zones” need more nature friendly regulations. Animals do not recognize human-made boundaries, and so while states’ concerns should be addressed, federal protections would be beneficial to insure our children and grandchildren live in a world where all life is respected.
It’s such a shame that these beautiful animals have to live in a state run by people who have no humanity or respect towards other living creatures. What are the redeeming qualities of Wyoming? A state that seems intent on exploiting, destroying and abusing nature.
I am a Wyoming resident, hunter and wildlife lover. I agree with the consensus that Cody Roberts’ actions are terrible and disgusting. Any such person is not welcome in my community of hunters. So, please don’t put me in his camp.
Also all you non-Wyoming residents, do you think it’s maybe just a little hypocritical to judge how our state has persevered the many species, including wolves, bears, elk, deer, bighorn sheep, and many others, that you all successfully killed to extinction? And now you know how to do better?
It’s called the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation and Wyoming is the gold standard. But yes, where there is freedom, there will always be the misuse of that freedom for evil. We will address this and future evil acts against wildlife we all love.
You are incorrect. Most specifically, you have not managed species well. Wolves were hunted to extirpation in all Western states. Same is true of the black-footed ferret. Also, grizzlies and cougars are still considered threatened. Before you boast about the “gold standard” no one with even a modicum of common sense considers a free for all predator zone in which predators can be brutalized in any imaginable way “golden”. Just because you don’t kill that way, does not make the laws sufficient.
Beverly DeLano. Weatherford Tx. This kind of cruelty makes me sick.
Judging by the nature of this incident, the amount of people involved, and the overall attitude of the state, Wyoming has absolutely no business being allowed to manage wolves at all!
The bottom line here – and what Wyoming and national wildlife advocacy groups have been saying for years – is that WGF has little appetite for defending wolves. WGF is by its very nature beholden to the agricultural community and hunting and trapping enthusiasts. Wyoming ranchers have an irrational, pervasive hatred of wolves. Cody Roberts is by no means a “one off”. It’s no secret that a majority of ranchers would like to see all wolves eliminated in Wyoming: they reject out of hand that wolves have an important place in the ecosystem. It’s past time to take wolf management out of state hands.
If the persons involved in “Animal Awareness Action” and other such groups actually lived in the area involved in the planting of non-native wolves they would have a very different opinion. Let’s all admit that this has been a money making endeavor for those (especially these groups and the Fish and Game) representing both sides and the loser in this has been the taxpaying residents of the areas impacted. We have gained a predator that is not native to our areas. We have lost the last of our native timberwolves. We have lost our tradition of going high into the mountains to hunt for elk and deer which has been the source of food for our family for generations. We now have large herds of elk and deer living in and just out of our towns which many see as a nuisance. And most of this is and was caused by people who live in areas of non impact but who send money to these groups because of ignorance of the actual situation. It is easy to use one stupid act by someone who has been impacted to raise the ire and take the money of those sitting in their homes in a city because they “love animals”. We all love animals. Some of us actually have lived the reality of this ridiculous assault on our lifestyle. And, yes, I am Native American.
Another comment huh Deb? You are sorely misinformed – the species is Canis lupus – Timberwolf is just another name for the same species. The wolves from Canada may be a bit bigger but they are the same species and have the same prey in both areas and behave the same way in the same ecosystem. It is interesting that you bemoan the loss of your “Timberwolves” again, same species saying you “lost them”. They were not LOST, they were hunted to EXTINCTION in WY and the ecosystem was collapsing. THAT is why they were reintroduced. Furthermore you completely assume that concerned people are all “city folk” we are not. The issue is the fact that these animals and all other predators are brutalized with absolutely no protection and that is sick and wrong. Do I think Natives have the right to hunt? Yah okay but that is not what is at issue here it’s is the mismanagement and inhumane treatment of a keystone species.
Well said Tracey.
Ms Philp, you seem to feel that the burdens caused by reintroduction of wolves to the landscape are caused by “people who live in areas of non impact…..because of ignorance of the actual situation” I invite you to look beyond those blinders that you have on, and turn back to history. It was man kind who eradicated the bison, wolf, beaver, etc… The non native species introduced is domestic sheep and cattle. Again, I can’t help but wonder how different our landscape would be if we had grown up in harmony with nature. Let’s address the the actions of the “impacted” individual……I don’t know him personally, but I don’t believe that he has any skin in this game. The articles have all mentioned that he was out hunting, (what season is open at the end of February, other than predator), and I believe he owns a trucking company , so I’m having a hard time drawing any correlation to how he was/is impacted. And finally, all of the elk and deer that now exist around towns are there because 1) State and Federal Wildlife departments maintain winter game feeding grounds, and 2) we don’t allow the natural depredation of those game herds cause we kill all the predators. I appreciate your opinions, but on this subject we will always disagree.
Excellent post BJ, you are completely on point.
The fact that this unspeakable act of cruelty happened was horrific enough but to add to the cruelty by not having laws in effect to punish such behavior is unforgivable. The lack of enforceable punishment for this kind of cruelty is indeed what enables this cruelty. Whoever fails to protect these animals is complicit. Truly sickening to see this.
The constituencies that do not support the current system for wolf management, will and should utilize the recent cruel wolf “torture and killing” to change the predator zoning system, the anything goes in the kill zone practice, restoration of protection to the species, and standards for acceptable hunting.
An underlying problem is the idea that wild animals can and should be “managed” for competing goals, numbers and killing.
One goal is the protection of the species, and the other the protection of income from hunting licenses for the state, and income for outfitters from the prime preditor, the hunter. The ethics of the system is a negative feedback loop for the wolf and other species, and I fear a revamp is not likley. Its just a dance that goes back and forth between how WY species preservation and or federal management should be executed and how the WY hunting ethic is addressed. This episode is what many, who are opposed to current wolf “management” can and should utilize for the puroose of changing the system until the door swings again.
These lawsuits in this article have same repeat complaints except 1 the Cody Derangement Syndrome. Wyoming has done a great job managing the reintroduction of the wolf program and the 10 breeding pairs are way above the goal set for reintroduction and areas are monitored in zones to make sure they don’t fall below whatever is required for the healthy pack numbers. Problem is people like this Cody look for attention and a pat on the back for his ego . Until the enforcement and penalties of crimes like this are steep enough ,( $250.00 isn’t even a tab at the bar wolf was at) its not a penalty to change behavior of idiots . If all this is a criminal act penalties should reflect it .
I hope these groups are successful in their lawsuit to bring wolves back under the full umbrella of protection of the Endangered Species Act. It will warm my heart knowing that Cody Roberts and a number of citizens in Daniel, Wyoming were primarily responsible for the ESA lawsuit and hopefully full protection of wolves under the Act.
The Commissioners are wrong. They have failed in their Wildlife Policy and management. Fining Cody Roberts $250 for such an egregious act is pathetic. Wyoming is allowing cruel and inhumane behavior to be perpetrated against Wolves with barely a slap on the wrist. If you don’t significantly punish people for their bad behavior it will continue. Wyoming Wildlife mismanagement allows horrible cruelty against animals instead of dealing with overpopulation in a humane fashion. Mahatma Gandhi said “The greatness of a nation and it’s moral progress can be judged by the way it’s animals are treated”. Gee, thanks Wyoming for our moral decline.
What Cody Robert’s did is monstrous! Anyone who can treat any sentient being with such callous cruelty should go to prison! I understand that here in WY it’s common practice to deliberately run animals over by snowmobile. That is unconscionable! I’m a ranchers daughter & I do believe that if a rancher sees a wolf or bear killing/attacking livestock they should be allowed to shoot them. They should NEVER be killed with pups in a den, or mothers killed & pups/cubs left to starve, tortured, or run over by snowmobiles! If we can’t be Humane in this State they should be relisted as Endangered Species!!
Personally I believe we need to leave the laws/regulations regarding predator control as is! It’s unfortunate that Mr Roberts unethical behavior has cause such a shit storm. By statute he can only be fined the $250 for possession of a live wild animal.
However there is another potential issue at hand. The bar owner failed to request the animal be immediately removed from her bar. Does this violate health codes, etc? Mr Robert’s actions not only draw attention to himself, but also the State of Wyoming, all ethnical sportsmen and women, as well as the city of Daniel and the owner of the bar.
Me Roberts, you have done no one any favors by our actions!
Killing wolves by batting, trapping, snares whatever goes methods is not ” hunting” it’s inhumane slaughter.
Wyoming, Idaho, Montana are destroying our ecosystem, caving in to agrosystems money & destroying the beauty of nature is nearsighted, viciously harmful & totally disheartening.
Preserving nature & orderly tourism
literally would provide those states with
unique pristine lands that do not exist the same way anywhere else. I for one would like my grandchildren to have the opportunity to see that nature.
I disagree Game and Fish, this should have been made illegal years ago, and I abhor the fact that there needs to be a law addressing everything.
Joey LaSalle.
We should not let one dumb person control our emotions. I believe these groups are just trying to stop hunting of wolfs and using this as an example of how they are being managed. What that guy did was despicable, but that’s one person. The wolfs need to be managed, they are devastating the herds of Moose, elk, and deer. These wolves are not native to our lands. These wolves are from Canada a much bigger wolf than what was on our land scape.
See what I wrote to Deb above about the Canadian wolves. And I wish it was an isolated incident – it is not. Predators are baited, lured out of the parks, whacked, attacked by dogs and brutalized with regularity. This is not hunting or the “gold standard” of wildlife management. There is a deep seated culture of hatred towards wolves that has normalized obscene behaviour and there is no defending or leaving it to the state to fix. It’s beyond that now.
Wolves devastating herds of Elk and Deer? Hmm , that must be why Wyoming Wildlife service’s has to hire professional hunters to keep their overpopulation down
It is interesting to me that part of the anger over the wolf incident in the bar is that Cody Roberts was “only” fined $250 for his torture of the wolf. “Money talks,” this seemed to say. But if Roberts had been fined ten grand would what he did to the poor young wolf be deemed OK? Not in my book.
I truly believe people have the right to hunt. For sport and to feed their families. I do not however believe cruelty is acceptable. Taping an animals mouth shut and letting it suffer for hours is unbelievably inhumane to me. A $250. fine is NOT enough. Maybe instead of endangering them there should be stricter laws on hunting. Especially keeping a live animal. I feel like that man got away with murder.
I don’t have to live in the west to know that animal cruelty is wrong and should be treated as how humans are treated when something like this horrific act happens to a human. It’s not the animal’s fault that humans tend to not take the time to understand them. The fact that the wolf is an endangered species should be all the more reason that $250 fine isn’t enough. When a human is tortured and killed there’s been people to get life in prison. Why aren’t animals equal to us? Why can we be understood by them but they can’t be understood by us? If you can train dogs and cats then an injured wolf could have a chance at rehabilitation. This man committed an inhumane and callous act to something for fun. He deserves prison time and think about the horrible act. He deserves to sit and think about how he’d feel if he was that wolf and got tortured just because he was injured.
Amazing how things happen , I remember a time while working in Yellowstone National Park when on my way to work and riding a snowmobile I was chased by a pack of wolves. Yes I was lucky to make it past them and they did chase after me so when I got to work I called and reported what had happened to one of the park biologist I was told ” They’re wolves , doing what wolves do” when I asked if they tell the public this can happen I was told ” There’s no need because they’re wolves”. Then I recall when a man on cross country skis was attacked by a coyote but not much was said about that encounter. I believe other “close calls” have happened with wildlife without the public ever being told or warned because of politics.
With all respect, what is your point? Is it that large predators should be eradicated to preserve the health of a small segment of the population that is somewhere between willfully ignorant and outright stupid? I would agree though that as obvious as it may be, warning information still needs to be abundantly disseminated but then again, it already is and some just choose to ignore it.
Perhaps you need to reevaluate where this occurred. It is their territory, not yours.
Incredible. All week I just can’t stop thinking about this
Same here, this haunts me and my heart breaks for that poor tortured wolf. I can’t get that picture of the wolf lying on the floor out of my mind, knowing her body was mangled & the pain she was in. I cried a bucket when I first read this.💔💦😢
Such cruelty defies words. We have reached a new moral low point in our society
Wolves should remain on the endangered species list everywhere in the US. There are hundreds of people like Cody they’re just smarter than he is. My policy is still the cattle do not belong on the range like the wild animals do let the ranchers take care of their own cows off government property like the rest of us that have animals have to do it’s very unfair that they get this ground for practically nothing to use for grazing. It is also really disrupting wild horses
The egregious treatment of wolves and animals in general by the State of Wyoming is abhorrent. The fact that the wolf abuser was only fined $250. is a symptom of a state and organizations that have no respect for life or the balance of nature. I hope karma for those involved happens quickly.
Hey Mike. What are your impressions of Cody Roberts behavior as a human being towards wildlife.
TOO MUCH MISINFORMATION: None of the multitude of discussions and comments about both wolf and grizzly bear reintroduction ever reference the finalized recovery/management plans which were adopted over 20 years ago. The population goals, dedicated core habitat, DMA zones, dealing with problem wolves and grizzlies are all spelled out in detail. Wyoming has formalized management plans for both species and Wyoming Game and Fish has implemented apex predator management as finalized by the public participation process. Yet, no one ever reads the plans or compares actual population numbers with the agreed upon population numbers – doing so, would reveal that wolf and grizzly bear recovery in Wyoming has been extremely successful. How to manage the apex predators was decided many years ago. However, numerous commentators accuse Wyoming Game and Fish of mismanagement when in fact the department has performed admirably. Example, Wyoming Game and Fish has expended approximately $70 million dollars on grizzly bear recovery and management while the great bears are a listed species – that’s right, it isn’t USFWS thats paying most of the recovery expenses or doing the day-to-day field work – its Wyoming Game and Fish. If grizzlies are under so-called Federal management why isn’t the Federal government paying the costs and doing the field work??? Yet, numerous commentators are calling for wolves to be returned to federal management which isn’t realistic – Wyoming would still be doing most of the work and paying the bills with funds generated by license sales to hunters and anglers. I think its time for Mike Koshmrl to write several articles entirely devoted to the agreed upon provisions in the formalized management plans – its obvious most of the readers have never read the adopted plans, or if they have, are purposely ignoring the facts and realities.
I happen to have a hard copy of ” Final Conservation Strategy for the Grizzly Bear in the Yellowstone Ecosystem” Developed by the Interagency Conservation Strategy Team in March 2003 in my hand now. Have you ever read it?? Are you even aware the management strategies have long ago been agreed upon and formalized?? If you haven’t done your homework and educated yourselves about the existing plans – then you’re spreading misinformation – that’s why we need Mike to write several articles devoted to educating the uninformed commentators. He did write a superb article about grizzly bears expanding their range which clearly showed their population numbers and occupied habitat far exceed the goals established in the formalized management plans. There’s too much misinformation being presented today.
I would agree that grizzly bears are an emerging success story, but solely due to federal protection. If left to WY officials, they would be under the same unregulated extermination “plan” as wolves are now. The only parts of WY that wolves are protected is the 15% of WY that is federal land. The only solution is to re-list the wolves which is unfortunate. The following is a quote from Patricia McDaniel in the Wyoming Tribune Eagle, April 24, 2024:
“Some Wyoming outfitters offer coyote- and wolf-whacking as an “sporting” option for out-of-state hunters. Designating 85% of the state as a predator zone, allowing wolves to be killed anywhere, at any time, for any reason, in any manner, is not a management program. It is a response to the irrational, pervasive hatred ranchers and the like have for wolves. And sadly, hunters and trappers are (Wyoming Game and Fish’s) bread and butter.”
You are wright, it’s amazing how one stupid act by one extremely stupid person can make blame the whole state! Maybe wolves and grizzlies need to be relocated to NY Central Park, just a thought
At the VERY LEAST, it should be illegal to run down wildlife with a snowmobile, with some SERIOUS penalties for any violations. This should be true nationwide, not just in Wyoming.
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Eric Mills, coordinator
ACTION FOR ANIMALS
Oakland