Bad behavior by one not condoned by other Wyomingites

by Lara Love

A photo being circulated of a wolf with red tape wrapped around its muzzle posed next to Daniel, Wyo. resident Cody Roberts, has people across Wyoming and the nation sickened by the man’s actions, myself included.

The man reportedly ran the wolf down with a snowmobile on the last day of February. He did not kill the wolf. Instead he kept the wolf, bringing it into the Green River Bar in Daniel on March 1, before later killing the wolf behind the building.

The Wyoming Game and Fish fined Roberts $250 for possessing a live wolf. There has been an outcry for officials to charge Roberts with additional charges with higher penalties.

Wyoming residents and hunters pride ourselves on being good stewards of the land and animals. This is a black mark on us all but does not represent us as a community.

In a letter from Animal Wellness Action and the Center for a Humane Economy they write, “Roberts’ actions clearly warrant a punishment more severe than the $250 ticket he received for possession of live wildlife — such an anemic response on the part of law enforcement will be seen by some as tacit approval of his crime and can only motivate other like-minded individuals driven by hatred of wolves to engage in similar, repugnant behavior.”

I beg to differ and hope one would be hard pressed to find very many like-minded individuals throughout the state of Wyoming.

I have hunted big game, including predators. A good, clean kill is always one of my main objectives and I think the majority of hunters would agree.