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Wyoming’s ‘wolf bill’ advances with higher penalties for prolonged suffering of predators

Three Pinedale Roundup newspapers showing articles written about the wolf incident.
Caitlin Tan
/
Wyoming Public Media
Three Pinedale Roundup newspapers showing articles written about the wolf incident earlier this year.

Wyoming lawmakers officially advanced a bill that attempts to prevent a repeat of the inhumane treatment of a wolf in Sublette County earlier this year. But they didn’t choose to outlaw what many consider a key part of the incident: running a wolf over with a snowmobile.

The Wyoming Legislature’s Travel, Recreation, Wildlife and Cultural Resources committee met Sept. 30. Before them was draft language that would change Wyoming’s predator laws. It was originally crafted over the summer by a group of stakeholders on the ‘Treatment of Predators Working Group.’

The bill, ‘Animal abuse-predatory animals,’ essentially penalizes prolonged suffering of a predator, like a wolf, that’s been run over by a vehicle, like a snowmobile. It’s the response to global calls for Wyoming to change its laws so that the ‘Cody Roberts wolf incident’ wouldn’t happen again.

“What are we trying to do here?” said Sen. Mike Gierau (D-Jackson) to the committee. “Are we trying to make something illegal? Are we trying to check people in jail? Or are we trying to change a behavior specifically? From what I've heard, that's what we're trying to do.”

In order to better get at that behavior aspect, the committee attached some amendments to the bill. Mostly, raising the penalties.

Current law punished Roberts with a $250 fine for illegal possession of warm-blooded wildlife, although later Wyofile reporting found the fine could’ve been more had the game warden sent Roberts to court.

So, this bill makes it very clear: If a person doesn’t kill the run-over animal immediately, the punishment could be up to a $1,000 fine, six months in jail, and losing hunting and fishing privileges for up to three years. The latter, suggested by Gierau, was slightly controversial.

“In the world of sportsmen, getting your privileges yanked – that's a pretty hard whack of the ruler,” said Rep. Cyrus Western (R-Big Horn). “I don't know if it quite makes me comfortable for a first offense.”

But lawmakers ultimately approved it.

“Residents of Wyoming value their hunting privileges so very much and I think this may be a real good deterrent to any action like what was done last winter,” said Rep. John Winter (R-Thermopolis), referencing the Sublette County wolf incident.

But many are still calling for the act of running predators over to be made illegal. At the committee meeting a handful of people testified, most in opposition to the bill as written.

“How many times can an animal be run over before it is considered illegal?” said Madhu Anderson of Rock Springs.

Lawmakers didn’t discuss making the act illegal. Previous discussions in the work group reflected that it’s a tool needed by livestock owners for predator control. But it’s also a recreational hobby, often used on coyotes.

The recreational aspect is what irks many wildlife advocates.

Another aspect of the bill that concerned the public is the specific phrasing of how to kill the animal. The bill specifies that after injuring an animal by running it over, a person must “use all reasonable efforts to kill the injured or disabled predatory animal.”

“The vagueness raises questions about the thresholds and definitions for the permissible actions,” Anderson said.

One idea floated by the public was to add the word “humane,” something to the effect of using “all reasonable efforts to humanely kill.” Paul Ulrich, a Pinedale resident, testified that it better reflects Wyoming’s values and the public trust doctrine, a principle that certain shared resources be preserved for public use.

“Whether it's a predatory species or a game species, we are trustees. We are not owners, we are trustees,” Ulrich said.

But that also wasn’t included. The work group also discussed the word “humane” this summer. They ultimately decided that the word is too subjective.

Now that the committee advanced the bill, it will have a chance at becoming law during the 2025 legislative session. If passed, it would become effective July 1, 2025.

Meanwhile, many wildlife advocate groups are keeping their eye on federal efforts. A bill introduced to Congress, with bi-partisan support, would specifically outlaw running over and killing wildlife with vehicles on some federal lands.

Caitlin Tan is the Energy and Natural Resources reporter based in Sublette County, Wyoming. Since graduating from the University of Wyoming in 2017, she’s reported on salmon in Alaska, folkways in Appalachia and helped produce 'All Things Considered' in Washington D.C. She formerly co-hosted the podcast ‘Inside Appalachia.' You can typically find her outside in the mountains with her two dogs.

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