Wyoming Man Cited For Capturing Live Wolf, Reportedly Showed It Off In Bar Before Killing It

https://cowboystatedaily.com/2024/04/02/wyoming-man-cited-for-capturing-live-wolf-reportedly-showed-it-off-in-a-bar-before-killing-it

On Feb. 29, a Sublette County man reportedly captured and tormented a wolf in Daniel, Wyoming. He allegedly taped its mouth shut and showed it off in a bar before taking it out back and shooting it. The man has been charged with possession of a live wolf.

UPDATE: Hunters, Biologists Angered At Alleged Wolf Torture Case

The case of a man allegedly capturing a wolf and tormenting it — including by showing it off in bar — before finally killing it could spark enough outrage to shake Wyoming’s wolf management policy.

It’s legal to kill wolves in the part of Sublette County where the incident is said to have happened.

But keeping an animal alive and tormenting it in such manner, as was reportedly done, would be an egregious violation of hunting ethics and a black eye for Wyoming, two sources familiar with the incident told Cowboy State Daily on Tuesday on condition of remaining anonymous.

Cowboy State Daily verified the reports of both sources, which also align with a report of an incident the same day from the Wyoming Game and Fish Department.

One source said they had seen photos of the wolf, with its mouth taped shut, being shown off in a bar in Daniel, Wyoming, a tiny town in Sublette County.

According to the account of events, a man ran the wolf down with a snowmobile Feb. 29, disabling it. Instead of killing the animal on the spot, he reportedly kept the wolf and took it back to his residence, then to the bar — before finally taking it out behind the bar and killing it.

Citation Issued

The Wyoming Game and Fish Department verified that somebody has been cited and fined for being in possession of a live wolf, but didn’t release that person’s name, the name of the investigating game warden or any exact details of the case.

Sublette County Circuit Court records, however, show that local resident Cody Roberts, born in 1981, was cited for a wildlife violation stemming from an incident that day, Feb. 29, and that Adam Hymas was the investigating agent.

A records request from Cowboy State Daily for detailed Game and Fish written reports regarding the case was still pending at press time.

Multiple calls from Cowboy State Daily to a number in Daniel listed as Roberts’ went unanswered.

When asked over the phone about the story of a wolf being taken into the bar — identified in the photos as the Green River Bar — an employee referred Cowboy State Daily to the bar’s owner, who had not returned messages as of publication.

Game And Fish Account Of Events

Game and Fish spokeswoman Breanna Ball sent Cowboy State Daily a statement about the case via email Tuesday.

“An anonymous reporting party notified the Wyoming Game and Fish Department that an individual was alleged to be in possession of a live wolf. The reporting party notified the Department on March 1, 2024. According to the investigation, the individual possessed the live wolf on 2/29/24,” according to the statement.

“The individual was hunting when he came across the wolf in the predator zone and intended to harvest it. However, the wolf was transported alive back to his residence and later to a business in Daniel, WY. The individual euthanized the wolf later that day. The individual was cited for violating Chapter 10, Importation and Possession of Live Warm-Blooded Wildlife,” according to Game and Fish.

That offense carries a $250 fine.

Will This Affect Wolf Policy?

Wyoming has a three-tiered wolf management policy. Inside Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks, wolves remain under full federal protection and may not be hunted.

In areas of Wyoming adjacent to the national parks, there is a “trophy hunting zone.” There, wolves are managed as a trophy species. Hunting is allowed, but hunters must have wolf hunting tags and can kill wolves only during designated hunting seasons and within predetermined quotas.

The rest of Wyoming, or roughly 85% of the state, is a “predator zone” for wolves. That means they may be killed at any time, with bag limit and no hunting tags required.

One source who spoke to Cowboy State Daily said the worry is that such an act of alleged animal cruelty could turn the tide of nationwide public sentiment against Wyoming’s wolf policy.

“When this story gets out, and it will, this is going to drastically change the discussion about wolf management in Wyoming,” the source said.

ACTION

SIGN: JUSTICE FOR WOLF RUN DOWN BY SNOWMOBILE, TORTURED, AND KILLED AT WYOMING BAR

PETITION TARGET: Sublette County Sheriff and County Attorney

A wolf in Wyoming was allegedly horrifically disabled after being hit by a snowmobile. The animal’s pain was drawn-out when the man responsible allegedly taped the wolf’s snout shut, brought the injured wolf home, took pictures posing with the abused animal, took the terrified wolf to a bar, and later killed the wolf outside the business in Sublette County, as reported by Cowboy State Daily.

In a video from Wyoming Game and Fish Department, obtained by Lady Freethinker via a Freedom of Information request, the muzzled wolf can be seen languishing in pain inside a bar.

The wolf was kept alive and in pain — apparently so the man could take pictures of the wolf’s suffering and subject the frightened animal to an audience before killing the animal.

Wyoming law permits what it calls “humane destruction” of certain animals. What this wolf endured was not humane.

Wyoming Game and Fish Department cited a man — but only for possession of the live animal.

“Animal cruelty charges are not applicable to predatory animals,” Wyoming Game and Fish Department said in a statement about the incident.

The law which Wyoming Game and Fish Department cites – Title Six – does not prohibit the “hunting, capture, killing or destruction of any predatory animal, pest or other wildlife in any manner not otherwise prohibited by law.” However, tormenting animals is otherwise prohibited by law. Title Six goes on to describe felony cruelty to animals as “knowingly, and with intent to cause death or undue suffering, beats with cruelty, tortures, torments or mutilates an animal.”

Other hunters have reportedly agreed that the circumstances under which this wolf was captured and killed were inhumane, according to Wyoming Public Radio.

The Wyoming Game and Fish Department has come under question for their handling of this case and we are calling on prosecutors to treat it with the severity it deserves.

No animal deserves to be tortured and suffer prolonged pain before death. Wolves are sentient, intelligent animals. They deserve to be protected from merciless acts of cruelty.

This wolf was made to suffer tremendous pain and fear before being killed in a manner resembling a public execution. Animal cruelty charges must be filed against the person responsible for mercilessly tormenting this wolf to send the message that Wyoming does not condone animal cruelty and to prevent others from inflicting similarly inhumane violence against animals.

Sign our petition to urge Sublette County officials to investigate and pursue felony animal cruelty charges against the person responsible for torturing this wolf to set a precedent that animal cruelty will not be permitted in Wyoming.

Please sign the petition:

Regards Mark

Photos – WAV Archives

Botswana has threatened to send 20,000 elephants to Germany, escalating an ongoing row over the import of hunting trophies.

The dispute began earlier this year when Germany’s environment ministry, citing concerns about poaching, suggested imposing stricter limits on the import of hunting trophies. Germany is the EU’s chief importer of African elephant trophies, according to a 2021 report by the Humane Society International.

On Tuesday, Botswana’s president Mokgweetsi Masisi told Bild that further restrictions on hunting would impoverish the African nation due to an explosion in the number of elephants.

Germans should “live together with the animals, in the way you are trying to tell us to”, he told the German daily.

“This is not a joke,” Mr Masisi added.

Conservation has led to a boom in Botswana’s elephant population but also increased man-animal conflict.

The landlocked nation is home to 130,000 elephants, accounting for a third of the world’s tuskers. In recent years, the president said elephant herds have been trampling people and destroying homes and crops.

Facing pressure from local communities to tackle the problem, Mr Masisi’s government in 2019 lifted the prohibition on trophy hunting imposed five years earlier.

Botswana had previously offered to send 8,000 elephants to Angola and 500 to Mozambique to deal with the “overpopulation”.

Mr Masisi said he would “like to offer such a gift to Germany” and “not take no for an answer”.

He criticised the German government and particularly the environment ministry for seeking to ban the import of trophies. “It is very easy to sit in Berlin and have an opinion about our affairs in Botswana. We are paying the price for preserving these animals for the world,” he said.

“We want our elephants to roam freely. The German weather is bad enough for them,” he added. “If you like them so much, then please accept this gift from us.”

The German environment ministry said Botswana had “not yet contacted them on this matter”, Politico reported. However, environment minister Steffi Lemke “signalled that she will accept Botswana’s invitation if an opportunity arises” to inspect wildlife protection.

In March, Botswana had threatened to send 10,000 elephants to Hyde Park in London in protest against a potential UK ban on safari hunters importing trophies.

Lots of threats !

Regards Mark

Botswana threatens to flood Germany with 20,000 elephants if it curbs hunting trophy imports (msn.com)

‘Not a joke’: Botswana threatens to send 20,000 elephants to Germany over trophy hunting ban (msn.com)

Elephants in Germany and space! Alternative destinations for Botswana’s unwanted mammals – POLITICO