Wolf abuse incident leads to new bill in Wyoming

by Sophie Tsairis

A bill is currently being considered in the Wyoming state legislature that would explicitly protect the right of state residents to intentionally hit predators with motor vehicles, but would require the animals to be killed immediately to prevent further suffering.

The bill was initiated by a state-appointed panel of nine lawmakers and stakeholders called the Predator Treatment Task Force and was written in response to a disturbing incident last spring in which Sublette County resident Cody Roberts ran over a wolf with a snowmobile, mutilating it and later taking the injured and traumatized animal to a local bar. He later killed the wolf.

“Striking” predators, or torturing and killing animals with motor vehicles, is legal in Wyoming, and in 85 percent of the state, animal cruelty laws do not apply to predators. Wyoming Game and Fish fined Roberts $250 for possession of a live predator.

Failure to “immediately make all reasonable efforts to kill a downed animal” is animal cruelty, the legislation states.

“I asked the Committee whether it would consider a formulation that would allow agricultural producers to [run down livestock predators] but not others who do it for sporting reasons. However, they did not support the drafting of a bill in this direction.” – Liz Storer, Wyoming House of Representatives

The working group met in Lander on June 25 to review Wyoming's wolf management and current predator management laws, and again on September 4 to discuss the bill. Their second meeting was held virtually, allowing for limited public participation. The majority of citizens who spoke requested that the bill go further and ban the practice of hunting predators with snowmobiles altogether. During the meeting, the working group recognized that the practice is not only a form of recreation, but is sometimes used by ranchers as a method of predator control.

Rep. Liz Storer (D-Jackson), chair of the working group, said: Mountain diary
The bill does not address Wyoming's current legality of hunting predators with motor vehicles or intentionally running them over, nor does it distinguish whether this is done to protect livestock or for pleasure. She had hoped the bill would go further to protect wildlife.

“I asked the Committee whether it would consider a formulation that would allow agricultural producers to [run down livestock predators] but not others who do it for fun, but they did not support the drafting of a bill along these lines,” Storer wrote in an email. “I had hoped that this might be an opportunity to better understand the animals we share this place with and explore how we can better coexist; that is why I volunteered to chair the working group. I have been sadly wrong so far.”

In 2019, when videos of people running over coyotes for fun appeared on social media, Representative Mike Yin (D-Teton) and Senator Mike Gierau (D-Teton) introduced a bill that would expand the definition of animal cruelty to include the intentional use of a snowmobile to kill or injure an animal. The bill was not considered for introduction.

The working group has approved the bill, and the Wyoming Travel, Recreation, Wildlife and Cultural Resources Committee will consider it on Sept. 30. If the committee approves the bill, it will go before the full legislature in early 2025. If passed, the new law will take effect in July 2025.

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