Man tortures, kills wolf in Wyoming — now activists are seeking harsher penalties

DANIEL, Wyo. (ABC4) — Animal activists are outraged and are calling for stiffer penalties after a new video shocked the internet.

The video, obtained by ABC4.com from Cowboy State Daily, shows a man toying with an injured wolf before torturing and killing it.

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Wyoming Game and Fish cited Cody Roberts, 42, of Daniel, Wyoming, for keeping a live wolf back in February. He was fined $250 and, at this time, it is unclear if he will face more penalties.

According to Cowboy State Daily, Roberts captured the wolf after running it down with a snowmobile. He then took the wolf to a bar in town, teasing it and showing it off.

Nick Gevock of the Sierra Club Utah Chapter said what this man did was “atrocious.”

“We see efforts in Idaho where they’re aria gunning wolves. Montana has passed gross laws where they are trying to kill as many wolves as they can, as fast as they can and in Wyoming, it’s legal to do what this guy did … and run a wolf over with a snowmobile. I think that’s atrocious,” Gevock said.

Wolves are designated “predatory animals” across 85% of Wyoming, which makes them exempt from the standard limits on killing under state wildlife management principles.

Here in Utah, wolves are still considered a protected species — even within the small portion of northeastern Utah where they are not currently listed under the endangered species act.

The Division of Wildlife Resources said it is still not legal to hunt wolves in Utah.

“The states that have shown they are just terrible at managing wolves; that they are ill-suited to do this and they don’t share the conservation groups of the larger United States. And thus we believe that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service should step in and restore federal protection for them,” Gevock said.

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