On February 28th of this year–just 26 days after the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service denied gray wolves protections–Cody Roberts of Daniel Wyoming tortured and killed a female yearling gray wolf after running her down with a snowmobile and taping her mouth shut.
This abhorrent act of cruelty cannot become normal or acceptable. The wildlife that you and I fight for every day face enough threats from habitat loss, climate change, and over consumption by lawful hunters. Torture cannot be added to that already-grave list.
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While this disgusting action likely shocks you as much as it does me, Mr. Roberts is currently facing a mere $250 fine for possessing a live wild animal. To put a fine point on that: running a wolf to exhaustion with a snowmobile and incapacitating her, taping her mouth shut, parading the still-live wolf around a bar, and finally killing and skinning her do not violate state law. Only the possession of the live animal is a low-level infraction.
Wyoming’s Governor,1 the local sheriff,2 the Director of the state’s fish and wildlife agency, and former U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) Director Dan Ashe3 have issued statements condemning this brutal attack. But to date, the current Director of the USFWS, Martha Williams, and her boss, Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland, have had no comment.
The USFWS could have prevented this. We worked for more than two years to organize support for the protection of gray wolves in Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana under the Endangered Species Act.4 Scientists, legal experts, activists, biologists, and Tribal representatives advocated to Secretary Haaland and Director Williams in support of protection.
And let’s be clear: Wyoming’s designated “predator zone,” 85 percent of the state where wolves can be shot on sight (without even a hunting license,) should never have been approved by the USFWS as an acceptable wolf management plan. Such a classification sends a message to the public that state wildlife officials consider wolves a pest and enables the type of horrific treatment of wolves that we witnessed last week.
As I wrote above, their decision to deny those crucial safeguards preceded this act of cowardly torture by just 26 days. I do not know if Mr. Roberts felt empowered by the USFWS deciding that these wolves did not warrant protection–but I do know that the agency could have acted before it and it can surely act now.
We will be in touch soon with additional actions that we can all take to protect wolves in the Northern Rockies and Colorado from similar acts of torture.
Thank you for your commitment to wildlife and wild places.
Sincerely,
Susan Holmes
Executive Director
Endangered Species Coalition
PS. Are the links not working? Please take action to share this story on this page: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/wolves-are-not-safe
1. https://cowboystatedaily.com/2024/04/08/gov-gordon-joins-outrage-over-torment-of-wyoming-wolf/
2. https://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/natural-resources-energy/2024-04-08/wolfs-capture-alleged-abuse-by-wyoming-man-condemned-highlights-legal-limitations
3. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/apr/10/wyoming-wolf-bar-animal-abuse
4. https://www.endangered.org/statement-of-endangered-species-coalition-on-todays-announcement-by-the-u-s-fish-and-wildlife-service-to-deny-federal-protections-to-gray-wolves-in-the-northern-rockies/
13 comments on “Wyoming Wolf Tortured and Killed. USFWS Must Act.”
I feel I have to say this, that when the U.S. Fish & Wildlife so called “Service” denied gray wolves protections it opened the flood gates for those who hate wolves and other wildlife. In the current climate of politics and corruption running rampant, I can’ help but wonder if some organization paid off the USFWS…
If we, as a humanity, are to leave a sincere and honorable legacy to our children and further generations beyond ourselves, we must live in integrity, sensibility, compassion and empathy for other species and the environment.
Te world is watching how we treat our wildlife and environment.
Please reinstate protections for wolves so as to stop any more heinous acts such as the one perpetrated on a young wolf by Cody Roberts of Daniel Wyoming who tortured and killed a female yearling gray wolf after running her down with a snowmobile and taping her mouth shut. He is currently facing a MERE $250 fine for possessing a live wild animal, but no accountability for the abuse for this abhorrent act of cruelty, which is unacceptable! Why is what this man did to an innocent animal not considered an act of animal CRUELTY and ABUSE. This person should be held accountable, as should all other agencies that have allowed this to happen.
I am so disgusted and outraged by our so called “governments” allowing such war on our wild creatures. Wyoming’s designated “predator zone,” 85 percent of the state where wolves can be shot on sight (without even a hunting license,) should never have been approved by the USFWS as an acceptable wolf management plan. Such a classification sends a message to the public that state wildlife officials consider wolves a pest and enables the type of horrific treatment of wolves that we witnessed last week. Wolves are a vital aspect of environmental ecosystems and should not be “managed”.
The decision to deny those crucial safeguards preceded this act of COWARDLY TORTURE by just 26 days. I do not know if Mr. Roberts felt empowered by the USFWS deciding that these wolves did not warrant protection–but I do know that the agency could have acted before it and it can surely act now.
PLEASE reinstate protections for wolves so as to stop any more heinous acts such as the one Mr. Roberts”.
THANK YOU!
https://www.endangered.org/assets/uploads/2024/04/WY-wolf-torture.png
You’re exactly right
Dispicable justice needed for the wolf
It is not smart to kill and eliminate a necessary species.
Disgusting. He looks so proud of himself and she looks scared! Poor thing to be paraded around then shot and skinned. For what ! Wyoming does not deserve to have wolves if they don’t protect them. But does he realize tourist come there to see live ones not dead ones .
This person should face prosecution for this terrible crime!
This man,Cody, needs to be punished. Does he abuse his children,pets and wife? He is cruel beyond words. I hope he gets run over by the karma bus.
That poor young wolf was tortured and terrorized.
Can’t you just feel her pain when you think about what happened to her. The U S Fish and wildlife Service is not doing its job.They denied protections to Grey wolves in the northern rockies. Did that embolden this rotten horrible man?
Fish and wildlife is “not doing its jjob”because Biden kow towed to these northwest people in agreeing that wolves would receive no protection Biden sucks as much as Trump
This wolf murderer needs to be arrested. This is absurd how he was only fined $250. Please change these laws, get protections for Wolves. They are not even close to being the worse danger in that state Cody is.
He’s an evil psychopath. Rest in peace beautiful noble wolf. How you must have suffered at the hands of this evil scumbag.
This was a Bully, Evil, Seeking Attention,
act by Mr Roberts. The Apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. His wife (I can’t tell them apart) is an animal killer too.
The Hero is the one who saves lives .
But, It’s Harder To Save A Life Than It Is To Take One. We are the hero’s . They are the Bully’s of the World. Carleen
I despise this Cody Roberts with his shit-eating grin. He must have felt like a big powerful man to be able to inflict misery on a defenseless wild animal. Actually, Roberts is a pathetic, inferior specimen, a disgrace to humankind. To those who empowered him: Wake up!
I can’t stand his face. Why isn’t he being investigated for drink driving either. He is single handedly making the entire state look bad which isn’t necessarily the case. He has shown the world what a low life coward he is by hiding. I hope that bar gets closed down too and his vile aunt is not better