New Footage Reveals Wyoming’s Tormented Wolf’s Final Moments
Screenshots from a video clip show a weak and injured wolf wearing a muzzle and a shock collar lying on the floor in a corner of a building, presumably the Green River Bar.
Heartbreaking footage has revealed the final moments of the wolf who was run down with a snowmobile, dragged into a local bar and tormented, before being shot.
The first two videos, provided to Cowboy State Daily by the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, reveal an exhausted wolf lying on the floor in a corner, presumably the Green River Bar. The animal can be seen wearing a muzzle and a shock collar, and she appears to blink and twitch.
“[S]he’s getting ready to get up,” one person can be heard saying.
The footage corroborates earlier reports of a wolf being captured and paraded around a bar by 42-year-old Cody Roberts of Daniel, Wyoming.
The other video, anonymously supplied to Cowboy State Daily, appears to show Roberts holding the gravely injured wolf, before pulling her head up and appearing to kiss her. The wolf weakly bares her teeth in distress, while onlookers can be heard laughing in the background of the footage.
““It absolutely sickens me to forward this to you,” the source told Cowboy State Daily. “But evil must be exposed. That’s the only reason to show it to the public.””
“It absolutely sickens me to forward this to you,” the source told Cowboy State Daily. “But evil must be exposed. That’s the only reason to show it to the public.”
An eyewitness has also explained to WyoFile how Roberts dragged the wolf into the bar and left her there for hours while he drank. He then took the animal outside and allegedly tortured her before shooting her dead behind the bar.
“He’s been going around town telling people it was worth it,” the eyewitness told WyoFile. “$250? That’s a round for the bar. I would like to see a law that is determined enough to keep people from keeping animals alive when they should not be alive anymore.”
Meanwhile, wolf biologist Doug Smith, who recently retired from a lengthy career at Yellowstone National Park, has examined the footage of the wolf in the Green River Bar. Smith confidently identified the wolf as a yearling born in 2023, suggesting it would have been approximately 9 months old by late February when the incident occurred.
“It’s recovering from severe injury, and it’s probably got internal organ damage,” Smith told WyoFile. “The fact that this wolf should be freaking out — and it’s not — indicates it’s in pain and badly injured.”
Screenshots from a video clip show a weak and injured wolf lying motionless on the floor in a corner of a building, presumably the Green River Bar.
International Outrage
Last week, photos of the incident sent shockwaves around the world, with outraged citizens, animal advocates, and even hunters condemning the abuse and the pitiful $250 fine Roberts received for being in illegal possession of warm-blooded wildlife.
Cody Roberts poses for a photo with a drink and a wild wolf who has had her mouth taped shut.
Over 12,000 Species Unite supporters have sent a polite message to Sublette County Sheriff K.C. Lehr to say that a $250 fine is not enough and to do the right thing by ensuring this wolf gets justice.
“Parading an injured, terrified animal with his mouth taped shut around a bar is clearly an example of torment and emotional torture,” reads the Species Unite letter. “This is a felony offense, which is punishable with up to two years in prison and a $5,000 fine.
“Cody Roberts must be sentenced to jail time so that he can be rehabilitated and no longer a violent danger to society,” the letter adds.
Due to the widespread outrage, the Sublette County Sheriff’s Office has reportedly now launched its own investigation, probing Roberts’ actions for potential animal cruelty violations.
“Our office, along with the Sublette County Attorney’s Office, are working with Wyoming Game and Fish to gather evidence and information relevant to the case,” a statement from the sheriff’s office reads. “As this is an active investigation, we will not be able to release any details at this time.”
‘This is the Moment for Change’
Trophy hunters, trappers, farmers, and predator control agents across the US, continue to advocate for limiting or decimating wolf populations based on misconceptions of their impact on livestock. The reality is that wolves are responsible for less than one percent of all livestock deaths.
In 2022 a judge reinstated wolves on the Endangered Species List but excluded those in the Northern Rocky Mountains, which includes Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana. In February of this year, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service had the chance to extend protections to wolves in those regions but voted against it.
In Wyoming, hunters are permitted to kill an unlimited number of wolves year-round across 80 percent of the state without needing a license. These allowances even extend to wolf pups and hunters are permitted to use any killing method, including running the animals down with snowmobiles.
The $250 fine Roberts received comes not due to the tormenting or killing of the wolf, but due to the state law which prohibits the possession of wolves.
As well as calling for justice for the wolf tormented and killed in Wyoming, Species Unite is pushing for US Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland to relist wolves on the Endangered Species List urgently.
“I shudder to think about the terror and the pain that this poor wolf endured. She was a juvenile, a one-year-old,” said Elizabeth Novogratz, Executive Director of Species Unite. “Let's not let her have died in vain, but instead use this horrific incident as an opportunity to help wolves. This is the moment for change. They need to be on the Endangered Species List, especially in Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho.”
Take Action
Please join Species Unite in demanding justice for this young wolf who suffered so much terror and pain at the hands of Cody Roberts. Tell Sublette County Sheriff K.C. Lehr a $250 fine is not enough and to do the right thing by ensuring this wolf gets justice here - it only takes one minute to send an email directly to his inbox. You can also contact them at (307) 777-4600.
Let’s make sure wolves across the US are protected from cruelty like this. Join the campaign by urging Secretary Haaland and President Biden to put wolves back on the Endangered Species List immediately.
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