A bill to outlaw torturing predatory animals in Wyoming advanced on Thursday, but many criticized it for lacking a ban on running over wolves and coyotes with snowmobiles.
Expressing the sentiments of numerous people who testified before the Senate Travel Recreation, Wildlife and Cultural Resources Committee on Thursday, Sublette County resident Laurie Brown said House Bill 275 won’t be complete until it bans running animals over.
“This bill needs to be amended promptly. Wyoming must know what a black eye and what an embarrassment it is to itself to allow any version of vehicular torture to be legally permitted on our ground toward our wildlife,” she told the committee via Zoom.
After a lengthy testimony period, committee chairman Sen. Bill Landen, R-Casper, noted that although HB 275 might not be perfect, it is a move in the right direction toward upholding Wyoming’s reputation.
The bill provides an opportunity to “express who we are, how we grew up, what our heritage is – what we expect of each other,” Landen said.
The committee voted 4-1 to advance the bill to the Senate Floor, without including amendment banning hitting predatory animals with vehicles.
Ripple Effect Of Daniel Wolf Incident
The practice of running predators over with snowmobiles or other vehicles – sometimes called “whacking” or “mashing” – was thrust into a world-wide spotlight after the torture and killing of a wolf last year in Sublette County.
According to accounts of events on Feb. 29, 2024, local resident Cody Roberts reportedly ran the wolf down with a snowmobile, disabling it. He then taped its mouth shut and kept it alive for a time, at one point showing it off to bar patrons in Daniel, a tiny town in Sublette County, before finally taking it out behind the bar and killing it.
A group called Wyoming Sportsmanship drafted HB 275 in response to the incident, dubbing it the “clean kill bill.”
The bill initially called for a felony charge for anybody convicted of torturing or deliberately prolonging the suffering of a predatory animal – rather than killing it as quickly as possible.
It was later amended to call for a misdemeanor charge for a first offense, with felony charges for subsequent offenses. The bill also gives judges the options of revoking a violator’s hunting, trapping and angling privileges.
Since the bill has been introduced, there have been calls to include a ban on running predators over, including from one of its sponsors, Rep. Mike Schmid, R-La Barge.
However, others have argued that could bog the bill down. They’ve raised concerns that it could open the door to misapplications – such as people being charged for accidentally hitting animals, or ranchers being denied the use of vehicles to protect their livestock from predators.
During her testimony, Wyoming Wildlife Federation spokeswoman Jess Johson said the state should still consider a ban on predator whacking.
But it should be handled as a separate matter at another time, rather than as an add-on to HB 275, she said.
Others, such as Laurie Chesnut of Cheyenne, argued that not including a whacking ban undermines the bill’s purpose, to outlaw animal torture.
“Chasing an animal with a machine until it is wounded and exhausted is torture,” she said.
‘Listen To The Chairman’
With limited time available and numerous people lined up to testify, Landen occasionally reminded speakers to keep their comments brief, and to not just repeat what others had said.
He asked to Keith Nelson, who as testifying via zoom, to wrap his comments up, because Nelson had apparently gone on too long.
Noting that Nelson didn’t stop talking immediately, Sen Brian Boner, R-Douglas remarked that he thought Nelson was out of line.
“I think it’s important the public listen to the chairman. That, what we just witnessed, was completely unacceptable,” Boner said.
“It is not, sir,” Nelson replied.
“If the chairman says to wrap it up, you have to wrap it up,” Boner said in return.
To which Nelson replied, “That, I did,” before signing off.
Cold-Blooded Exceptions
One of the crafters of HB 275, former Wyoming attorney general Pat Crank said that – although he didn’t favor adding a whacking ban – there had been some changes made.
That included an exception for cold-blooded animals.
Crank explained that exception was worked in so people couldn’t be charged with animal torture for things such as using minnows as live bait, or dissecting frogs in science class.
He noted that it was a mistake for Roberts to not have been written a “must appear” (in court) ticket after the Daniel wolf killing.
Roberts was cited by a Wyoming Game and Fish warden for illegal possession of a live, warm-blooded animal and forfeited a $250 bond, according to court records.
Had Roberts been forced to appear in court, he might have faced stiffer penalties – up to six months in jail and/or a $1,000 fine, Crank said.
House Bill 275 would give game wardens and judges a better option for dealing with such egregious offenses, he said.
Roll Call
Landen, Boner and Sens. Stacy Jones, R-Rock Springs, and Wendy Schuler, R-Evanston voted to advance HB 275.
Sen. Larry Hicks, R-Baggs, voted against it.
Mark Heinz can be reached at mark@cowboystatedaily.com.
