There’s agreement across the board that the torture of a wolf in Daniel, Wyoming, last year goes against everything Wyoming hunters stand for.
But as House Bill 275, written in response to that incident, advances through the Wyoming Legislature, whether it should be legal to chase and run down wolves and other predators with vehicles remains a hotly debated point.
“Why can we not put something in a bill that stops the use of motorized, over-the-ground vehicles and over-the-snow vehicles to be used as a weapon to kill any wildlife, including predators?” Rep. Mike Schmid, R-La Barge, told the House Travel, Recreation, Wildlife & Cultural Resources Committee on Tuesday.
Schmid isn’t a member of the committee but is one of HB 275’s co-sponsors.
The committee voted unanimously to advance the bill to the House Floor.
In its current form, the bill outlaws deliberately prolonging the suffering of wolves and other predatory animals – such as coyotes and jackrabbits.
But it doesn’t ban the practice of pursing and running over predators with snowmobiles and other vehicles – commonly called “whacking” or “mashing.”
Rifle Scope Leaves Permanent Reminder
Wyoming State Superintendent of Public Instruction Megan Degenfelder told the committee that a mark on her forehead — left by the impact of scope from a rifle’s recoil when she was a youngster – serves as a reminder of hunting ethics.
She said she didn’t make a clean killing shot when she fired from a prone position at an antelope.
“I missed, scoped myself, and blood was running down my forehead. I’m in excruciating pain. The first thing my dad said was, ‘We’re tracking down that antelope,’” she said.
“We spent hours and hours tracking down that antelope. He said, ‘We’ll take care of you once we find that antelope and make sure we get a clean kill,’” Degenfelder said.
She and other said that sort of commitment to ethical hunting reflects Wyoming’s values, in contrast to the alleged prolonged torture of a wolf in Sublette County
According to accounts of events from February 2024, Daniel resident Cody Roberts captured the wolf after running it down it with a snowmobile. He then took it to his home, duct-taped the animal’s mouth shut and posed for photos with it.
Later, he took it to the Green River Bar in Daniel and showed it off, while more photos and videos were taken of the animal. Then, he took the wolf behind the bar and killed it.
First Offense A Felony?
Big Piney District Senior Game and Fish Warden Adam Hymas ticketed Roberts for illegal possession of a live, warm-blooded animal, for which Roberts forfeited a $250 bond, according to reports.
The incident sparked outrage across the country and all over the world. Many were aghast because they thought that Roberts got off far too lightly.
HB 275 originally called for deliberately allowing a predatory animal to suffer to be a felony on the first offense.
Wyoming Game and Fish Department Chief of Wildlife Dan Smith told the committee that it would be best to give game wardens more leeway to treat incidents on a case-by-case basis.
“I ask my wardens to always use discretion,” he said.
The committee agreed to amend the bill to not automatically treat every case as a felony on the first offense.
Still Has The World’s Attention
Noted Wyoming outdoorsman and Sublette County resident Paul Ulrich is one of the bill’s primary backers.
He told the committee that the idea of extending more protection for predators from deliberate cruelty has broad support.
Wyoming Wildlife Federation spokeswoman Jess Johnson said the Daniel wolf incident, and how Wyoming will respond to it, still has nationwide attention.
She said she recently attended a “National wolf dialogue” conference in Arizona, attended by people will all sorts of opinions regarding wolves.
During that conference, “the incident came up over and over and over and over again. A year later, almost. So we need to do something,” she said.
Like Schmid and others who testified, Sylvia Bagdonas of Laramie said running predators down with snowmobiles will never not be regarded as cruel, and so Wyoming needs to ban it.
Wyoming shouldn’t bear the shame of “’yote mashing and the killing of wildlife for sport,” she said.
Wyoming Stock Growers Association Executive Vice President Jim Magagna said his organization condemns what happened to the wolf in Daniel.
But ranchers also see the cruelty that wolves and other predators inflict on cattle and sheep, he said.
“They torment, they molest them, they leave them half dead and half alive,” Magagna said.
He added that he opposes an across-the-board ban on using snowmobiles or other vehicles to pursue or hit predators. Ranchers rely on vehicles to clear predators, especially coyotes out of winter pasture before moving their livestock in, he said.
Alison Crane, executive director of the Wyoming Wool Growers Association, told the committee that she was also worried that the bill could have the “unintended consequences” of putting a chilling effect on ranchers’ predator control.
What Is ‘Humane?'
Committee member Rep. Liz Storer, D-Jackson, suggested an amendment to the bill, specifying that predators must be killed in a “humane” manner, regardless of the method.
Other committee members objected that might be too vague, leaving room for misapplication of the law.
Rep. Robert Wharff, R-Evanston, said trying to define a “humane manner” concerned him, because it could be difficult to enforce, or could result in charges against people who weren’t intentionally making animals suffer.
The amendment failed.
Committee member Rep Karlee Provenza, D-Laramie, said she had heard from hundreds of her constituents about responding to the Daniel Wolf incident.
She said she understands some of the misgivings – such as not banning running wolves over with snowmobiles. But if the bill is scrapped because of disagreement over the details, that would amount to doing nothing.
“I’m a little torn, but I think this (HB 275) is a vehicle we can get something done on. I don’t want to throw this vehicle out the door and not have any opportunity to help our wildlife at all,” said Provenza.
When her name was called during the vote, Provenza gave a long pause before responding “aye.”
Roll Call
The vote to forward HB 275 to the House floor was unanimous. Along with Storer, Wharff and Provenza, the aye votes included Reps. Andrew Byron, R-Jackson, Elissa Campbell, R-Casper, Marilyn Connolly, R-Buffalo, Steve Harshman, R-Casper, Julie Jarvis R-Casper, and Pam Thayer, R-Rawlins.
Mark Heinz can be reached at mark@cowboystatedaily.com.
