Gov. Mark Gordon and Wyoming Game and Fish Director Brian Nesvik are publicly condemning the alleged torment of a wolf in Sublette County, while wildlife advocate and animal rights groups continue to call for stronger responses and stiffer penalties.
The outrage and condemnation of the Feb. 29 incident peaked over the weekend when Cowboy State Daily obtained and published a photo of a Sublette County man posing with the wolf with its muzzled taped shut.
“Cruelty to any wildlife is absolutely unacceptable. This is not the way anyone should treat any animal,” Gordon said in a statement issued from his office Monday.
Nesvik called the alleged capture and torment of the wolf “disgusting” during a telephone interview with Cowboy State Daily early that morning.
Meanwhile, some animal rights activists continue to call for stiffer penalties against the man, who was fined $250 for illegal possession of a live wolf in connection with the incident in Daniel, Wyoming.
Wane Pacelle, president of Animal Wellness Action, said Cody Roberts of Daniel, who was ticketed by wildlife officials that day and alleged to be the man shown posing in a photo with a wolf that had its muzzle taped shut, should face felony charges.
“Cody Roberts needs to be arrested for animal cruelty,” Pacelle said in a statement released jointly Monday by his group and the Center for a Humane Economy.
According to accounts of the events Feb. 29, Roberts ran a wolf down with a snowmobile and disabled it, then taped its mouth shut before taking it to his residence, showing it off at a local bar and then finally taking it behind the bar and killing it.
‘I Find It Disgusting’
Nesvik said Monday that Game and Fish could not yet officially identify the person who was fined in connection with allegations of possession of a life wolf.
But he said accounts of the incident had marred the reputation of years of sound and responsible wolf management by Game and Fish.
“It’s really casting a shadow over a really strong track record of wolf management in our state,” he said.
Once wolves were delisted from federal protection in Wyoming, Montana and Idaho, management of wolves was handed over to those states’ game agencies. All three states have allowed wolf hunting.
And although shooting wolves is legal in much of Wyoming, Nesvik said prolonging an animal’s suffering goes directly against the hunting ethics that Game and Fish promotes.
“It’s disrespectful of wildlife and it’s disrespectful of the law, and I find it disgusting,” he said.
Gordon also stated that the alleged torment of the wolf violated Wyoming’s ethical hunting tradition and isn’t representative of the state’s people.
“I am outraged by this incident, just like thousands of Wyoming ranchers, farmers, sportsmen and sportswomen, and others around the state,” he said. “I would be disappointed if anyone were to paint Wyoming with a broad brush and suggest that Wyoming citizens condone the reckless, thoughtless and heinous actions of one individual.”
‘Everybody’s Watching Wyoming’
Officials speaking out about the incident is a step in the right direction, Wyoming Wildlife Advocates (WWA) Executive Director Kristin Combs told Cowboy State Daily on Monday.
However, more needs to be done, and pressure needs to be put on the Wyoming Legislature to change the state’s animal cruelty laws, she said.
WWA, Wyoming Untrapped, Wolves of the Rockies and the Large Carnivore Fund on Monday issued a joint call to action, asking their members and others to call or email Game and Fish to pressure the agency to release an official statement condemning the incident.
“I think there needs to be an actual, official statement from the Game and Fish Department that this was cruelty and this was torture,” Combs said.
Game and Fish could also use its influence with the Legislature to have animal cruelty and wildlife harassment protections extended to wolves throughout the state, she added.
The state’s good name hinges upon such action, Combs said.
“Everybody’s watching Wyoming and seeing what’s going to happen,” she said.
‘I Love And Support You Cody’
Amid all the angry condemnation from across the nation and beyond, Roberts isn’t without support.
His aunt, Jeanne Ivie-Roberts, posted a photo of herself Friday on her Facebook page holding a wolf pelt with her mouth taped shut.
The image seems to mock the outrage and reaction of the wolf incident.
In another post she linked a Cowboy State Daily story headlined Wyoming Animal Cruelty Laws Don’t Apply To Alleged Wolf Torment Case and her reaction: “Woohoo” with heart emojis.
In another post, she simply states, “I love and support you Cody.”
Mark Heinz can be reached at mark@cowboystatedaily.com.
