Posted on 04/17/2024 6:24:32 AM PDT by Red Badger
The Wyoming Game and Fish Commission on Tuesday issued a stark condemnation of the apparent capture, abuse and killing of a wolf in Sublette County. Meanwhile, Gov. Mark Gordon is “monitoring the situation.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Screenshots from a video clip provided exclusively to Cowboy State Daily show Daniel, Wyoming, resident Cody Roberts kneeling over and kissing the muzzle of a weak and injured wolf in the Green River Bar in Daniel on Feb. 29. No reproduction without permission. (Cowboy State Daily Staff)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
While meeting Tuesday in Riverton, the Wyoming Game and Fish Commission issued a statement starkly condemning the apparent torment of a wolf in Sublette County that’s sparked a huge response from around the globe.
Meanwhile, Gov. Mark Gordon had called some state officials and other “stakeholders” regarding the wolf incident in Daniel, Wyoming, as well as for a review of the state’s general policy toward wolves.
Doesn’t Represent Wyoming
The Game and Fish Commission is meeting Tuesday and Wednesday in Riverton. The board’s agenda makes no mention of the incident with the wolf. It contains usual business, such as finalizing this fall’s big game hunting seasons.
And the essentially unregulated hunting and killing wolves in Wyoming’s “predator zone” for the species, where the alleged incident took place, isn’t directly managed by the Wyoming Game and Fish Department. So normally, the subject of killing wolves in the predator zone wouldn’t come up during a commission meeting.
However, the board saw fit to unanimously approve the statement and release it Tuesday afternoon strongly condemning what happened.
It reads:
“By way of this statement, the Commission denounces the actions that were revealed following the (Game and Fish) Department’s investigation of the incident. The actions of the defendant do not represent the value Wyoming people and our Commission have for our incredible and priceless wildlife resources.
“For over one hundred years, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department has successfully managed Wyoming’s wildlife. Wyoming has proven itself to be the gold standard in wildlife management. This incident perpetrated by one individual does not represent a failure in wildlife policy or management.
“We wish to be clear: We support the investigation conducted by the Department. We recognize and appreciate the work of the Department and the work of the Wardens involved. We’re satisfied that every tool we have available was used, and used to the best of our ability. The Department has acted with transparency and in compliance with Wyoming law.”
According to accounts of events Feb. 29, Cody Roberts, 42, of Daniel ran a wolf down with his snowmobile and captured it. He then took the animal to his residence, and then later showed it off in a local bar before killing it.
Game and Fish cited Roberts for illegal possession of a live wolf and fined him $250.
Governor Has An Eye On Things
Game and Fish Director Brian Nesvik during the commission meeting also mentioned that Gov. Mark Gordon had been in contact with some “stakeholders” regarding the “incident.”
Gordon has reached out to some unspecified parties, but as of Tuesday no working group or other such body had been formed to address what happened and no direct action was planned, Michael Pearlman, spokesman for Gordon’s office, told Cowboy State Daily.
“The governor did have a joint call with a few state officials and stakeholders to discuss what occurred in Sublette County, and wolf management in general. There was agreement to continue to monitor the situation as it develops,” Pearlman said.
He added that the names of the officials and other parties involved are being kept confidential for safety reasons.
“Given the safety and security concerns that have arisen due to publicity surrounding this issue, including threats that public officials as well as anyone even tangentially involved with this incident have been receiving, I’m going to decline to provide the names of the attendees on the call or additional details,” Pearlman said.
Mark Heinz can be reached at mark@cowboystatedaily.com.
I don’t agree with reintroducing wolves, but the torture of one is definitely not acceptable.
It’s despicable.
If someone would do this to a defenseless animal, they would have no problem doing it to a human being.
Many serial killers began their atrocities by torturing animals.................
I live in wolf country and don’t care much for them but I’d be more than happy to gut this POS.
I don't shed any tears when I hear of reintroduced wolves that meet quick, untimely deaths but torturing animals is just wrong. I also completely understand why the residents near wolf reintroduction zones come to hate them.
Many serial killers began their atrocities by torturing animals.................
This. despicable
The guy deserves any punishment they throw at him.
There was a reel on Facebook or Instagram with a guy from part of the country talking about the reintroduction of wolves. He made the distinction between the ones being introduced, the huge wolves from the northern regions of the world, and “prairie wolves” which considerably smaller, but still did enough damage to livestock.
Reading the name of the commission as the “Game and Fish Commission” was grating on me in reading this article.
I tried to find a list of all of the such commissions and state departments across the country. As best I could find is that “Game and Fish” is used in the midwest and western states while “Fish and Game” which is what I have always seen in my east cost centric travels.
Some including the feds title it “Fish and Wildlife Service” which is an interesting notation, that fish are separate from wildlife.
Also the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation does the same.
Which it lists first, tells you which they prioritize.
Ours is called “The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission”. It used to be called Fish & Game................
The guy in the photos is a psychopath who should be dragged behind a truck for a while.
From Fish and Game to Fish and Wildlife.
Wildlife includes animals not considered game,
Such as Garter Snakes, Lizards, ... , all that stuff that kids catch and play with.
I am a farmer/rancher here in central Kansas. We don’t have wolves here, but we do have coyotes. Coyotes are predators to our livestock, so we shoot and kill them. Two years ago this spring, they came through here during calving season and outright killed a newborn calf and tore open the udder of his momma so badly that I had to put her down. That’s some serious money to me. I bought a thermal optic scope for my .22-250 rifle so I could hunt them at night when they come through here. That practice is legal here. It’s very common here to see a farmer/rancher with a center fire rifle in a rifle rack in the cab of their truck. We terminate them because they are a threat to our very livelihood. But we don’t torture them, that is inhuman and in-humane.
Reminds me of a Middle Ages lament reworked for modern days.
“I raise sheep, the wolves kill them.
When I protect my sheep, I am arrested,
Because a GREAT MAN who is above raising sheep,
Would be in need of wolves.”
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.