CHEYENNE, Wyo. — Growing outrage over a recent incident in which a man struck a wolf with a snowmobile, taped its mouth shut, and brought it into a bar has sparked a proposal to revise Wyoming’s animal cruelty laws. The new legislation aims to hold individuals accountable if they kill wolves by deliberately running them over.
Under the proposed draft legislation set for discussion, individuals would still be permitted to intentionally run over wolves, but only if the animal is killed immediately upon impact or shortly thereafter. Currently, Wyoming’s animal cruelty laws do not cover predators like wolves, and the proposed amendment would mandate that anyone striking a wolf that survives must make “all reasonable efforts” to euthanize the animal.
However, the bill does not outline specific methods for dispatching a surviving wolf after it has been struck. The incident involving the wolf last winter in western Wyoming has prompted a reexamination of state policies relating to wolves, spurring wildlife advocates to challenge the longstanding reluctance in the state to amend laws established after the removal of federal protections for the species.
Despite potential adjustments to the draft legislation, experts assert that the current proposal may not significantly alter the existing framework. Key advocacy groups emphasize that there is universal opposition to animal cruelty, with a growing consensus against torturing animals.
The shocking footage of the wolf lying on a bar floor has led to calls for a boycott of Wyoming’s thriving tourism industry, which generates $4.8 billion annually, largely centered around the Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks—key habitats for wolves.
Although there have been organized efforts to protest, they have not yielded significant results, as Yellowstone is anticipating one of its busiest summer seasons on record.
The individual responsible for the wolf’s death faced minimal consequences, receiving only a $250 fine for illegal possession of wildlife, with no additional charges filed. Local investigators in Sublette County have encountered obstacles in their inquiry, as witnesses have been unwilling to cooperate, leaving the status of the case in limbo.
The draft legislation under review would introduce felony animal cruelty charges for anyone who intentionally strikes a wolf and fails to euthanize it immediately if the animal survives. The frequency of such incidents in Wyoming remains largely undocumented, and the Sublette County case is one of the few recorded occurrences.
This incident has brought renewed focus to Wyoming’s lax policies regarding wolf management, which are considered the least restrictive in the nation. Wolves, often at odds with the interests of ranchers and hunters due to livestock predation, have become a contentious issue in the state’s rural communities.
Across the broader region, states have implemented laws to prevent the proliferation of wolves from the mountainous Yellowstone ecosystem into agricultural areas. While wolves are protected under federal law as endangered or threatened species in many parts of the U.S., they are subject to hunting and trapping regulations in Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana. In Wyoming, wolves can be killed without restrictions in 85% of the state beyond the Yellowstone boundaries.
Despite the outrage sparked by the recent event, Wyoming officials have shown resistance to modifying laws to curb animal mistreatment. Local agricultural representatives condemned the incident but maintained that it was an isolated occurrence unrelated to the state’s existing wolf management policies.
