Wyoming Wolf Torture Update: WY Bill Fails Wildlife

Nearly one year ago, the story of Hope the wolf shook the world. The innocent yearling was run down by a snowmobile driven by a sadistic man named Cody Roberts, who then dragged her, helpless and dying, to a local bar in Daniel, Wyoming, before torturing and ultimately killing her.

Despite international outcry, Cody Roberts has never faced justice for this horrific act of violence.

Now, a bill that was originally drafted as a response to this brutal crime has passed the Wyoming House and moved to the Senate, but it falls far short of its intended purpose. House Bill 275 initially made it a first-offense felony to torture wildlife, including predatory animals. However, lawmakers caved to pressure from the Wyoming Game and Fish Department and the livestock industry, amending the bill to let game wardens evaluate incidents on a case-by-case basis and reducing the first offense of animal cruelty to a misdemeanor. This push by livestock lobbyists to essentially sanction the continued torture of predators is a disturbing admission that members of their industry are among the most likely to engage in such violent behavior against wildlife.

Wyoming lawmakers also initially proposed banning the use of snowmobiles to run down wildlife in light of Hope’s tragic killing. But once again, ranchers opposed the effort, including Jim Magagna, Executive Vice President of the Wyoming Stock Growers Association. As a result, the bill now includes only a watered-down provision: if an animal is run down with a snowmobile, the perpetrator must make a "reasonable effort to immediately kill the injured or incapacitated animal." The bill defines "incapacitated" as an animal so injured or exhausted that they have stopped trying to flee. Instead of condemning this cruelty, the bill essentially codifies the right of sick and cruel individuals to chase wildlife to the point of collapse before killing them. A second bill, House Bill 331, was designed to make up for the failures of House Bill 275 by prohibiting the use of motorized vehicles to run down animals on public lands. However, that bill died in the House earlier this month.

This is an unacceptable betrayal of Wyoming’s wildlife and a cowardly failure by the state’s legislature. We must keep demanding that they do the right thing. Cody Roberts should be in jail for his crime, yet he remains free despite the threat that such violent individuals pose to society. 

Wyoming can and must do better.

Despite the disappointing state of House Bill 275, we will not stop pressuring lawmakers to enact real protections for wildlife. Please consider sharing our “Wolf Whacking” petition with your network to ensure this case is not forgotten. We cannot allow the Wyoming Legislature to settle for this pyrrhic victory and abandon the fight for true justice.