Man who hit wolf with snowmobile, killed it at bar, gets 18 months’ probation – National

A judge in Wyoming sentenced a man to 18 months of probation for hitting a wolf with a snowmobile before taping the wounded animal’s mouth shut and bringing it into a rural bar before killing it.

Sweetwater County District Judge Richard Lavery sentenced Cody Roberts, 44, to the probation on Wednesday, in accordance with a plea deal the accused reached with prosecutors in February.

Roberts was also fined US$1,000 and another $425 in fees. Lavery ordered him not to drink alcohol, enter a bar or liquor store, nor hunt or fish while on probation.

“I have to be honest with you, Mr. Roberts,” Lavery said. “The charge in this case is disturbing.”

Lavery acknowledged that Wyoming law gives wide leeway for people to kill wolves and other predators by a variety of means in the state.

“It can’t be done in a cruel manner,” the judge said. “It’s not that you captured a wolf, it’s what happened after.”

Lavery said that the “keeping of the animal was cruel” and “that was the crime.”

The incident took place in February 2024 in Daniel, Wyo., a town of about 150 people. Roberts used a snowmobile to pursue and run over a wolf before taping its jaw closed and taking it to the Green River Bar to display it before taking it out back and killing it. Roberts took a photo beside the wolf with its mouth taped shut, which was shared on social media.

Roberts told Lavery at his change-of-plea hearing in March that he regretted what he did and apologized to his family and community.

Roberts avoided two years in prison and a $5,000 fine by pleading guilty. He initially pleaded not guilty, and a trial was set for March.

At the outset, he paid a $250 fine for illegal possession of wildlife but was indicted on the animal cruelty charge by a Wyoming grand jury last year.

Animal Wellness Action and the Center for a Humane Economy are urging Congress to “take action to forbid the practice on all federal lands” following Roberts’ sentencing.

“The organizations are calling on Wyoming lawmakers to lead the charge to pass the Snowmobiles Are Not Weapons (SAW) Act, given the disgust that so many Wyoming residents feel for this extreme cruelty to wildlife,” the organization wrote in a press release.

“While we would have preferred prison time for Roberts, we are grateful to Sublette County prosecutor and the judge for securing a felony conviction for cruelty to animals in this case,” said Wayne Pacelle, president of Animal Wellness Action and the Center for a Humane Economy.

Pacelle said that “no sane or responsible person supports running over an innocent animal with a snowmobile to delight in the pain and death the victim experiences.”

“Just like we have laws against dogfighting and cockfighting, we should have laws to forbid chasing down and crushing a wild animal with a snowmobile. It’s savagery. I encourage Wyoming’s powerful congressional delegation to get behind this legislation. There must be guardrails in our treatment of animals,” Pacelle added.

Animal Wellness Action and the Center for a Humane Economy said the SAW Act legislation is “designed to strengthen federal protections against the use of snowmobiles and other motorized vehicles to chase, injure, or torment wildlife.”

“Minnesota has more wolves than any other state in the Lower 48 and is a snowmobiling mecca, so the law’s long-standing acceptance offers an important and practical example,” said Pacelle.

Pacelle said the next step “must be ensuring that no wild animal can be subjected to prolonged torture under the guise of predator control.”

“The Roberts case showed that public outrage can help force accountability. Now we must translate that outrage into lasting policy change,” he concluded.

In Canada, wolf hunting is legal, with many provinces and territories offering seasons for residents and non-residents. Regulations vary by province regarding licences and seasons.

In Ontario, open season takes place from September 15 to March 31. Anyone wishing to hunt wolf of coyote must have an Outdoors Card, small game licence listed on your licence summary or on the back of your Outdoors card, wolf or coyote tags valid for the current calendar year and proof of firearm accreditation if you are hunting with a gun, according to the government of Ontario.

It is illegal to hunt or trap wolf or coyote in the areas within and surrounding Algonquin Provincial Park, Killarney Provincial Park, Queen Elizabeth II Wildlands Provincial Park and Kawartha Highlands Provincial Park — this is an initiative to help protect the Eastern wolf.

— With files from The Associated Press

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