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Wyoming man’s treatment of now-dead wolf sparks calls to action

Katie Smith

This Jan. 24, 2018, photo released by the National Park Service shows a wolf from the Wapiti Lake pack silhouetted by a nearby hot spring in Yellowstone National Park, Wyo. Park officials say hunters in neighboring states have killed 20 of the park's renown gray wolves in recent months, most of them in Montana after the state lifted hunting restrictions near the park. (Jacob W. Frank/National Park Service via AP, File)

(NewsNation) — A Wyoming man who reportedly hit a wolf with his snowmobile, taped the animal’s mouth shut and showed her off at a bar before killing her earlier this month has sparked widespread outrage, especially from wildlife advocates.

The Center for Biological Diversity is calling on federal agencies to ban killing animals with snowmobiles after the incident. It’s a hunting practice that several states, including Wyoming and Idaho, authorize for wolves and other animals, according to a news release. Montana also allows humans to hunt and trap wolves, with conditions and licensing requirements in place.

“It’s disgusting that Wyoming and Idaho allow coyotes and wolves to be chased, bludgeoned and run over by snowmobiles,” said Amaroq Weiss, a senior wolf advocate with the Center for Biological Diversity. “But the American people own the federal lands throughout the country, and we won’t stop until federal agencies ban this horrific practice where they can.”

Meanwhile, Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon, a Republican, called the treatment of the wolf “reckless, thoughtless and heinous.”

The public learned about the incident after photos surfaced showing the man with the wolf, The Washington Post reported.

Because it’s legal to kill wolves in the Sublette County area where the incident is said to have happened, authorities fined the man only $250 for illegal possession of a wild animal, according to reports from the Humane Society of the United States and Cowboy State Daily.

As of Feb. 10, 2022, gray wolves in the remaining 48 contiguous states are protected under the Endangered Species Act.

Wyoming’s Wolf Trophy Game Management Area, however, classifies gray wolves differently throughout the state.

In the northwest region, they’re classified as trophy game animals, while wolves outside the region are classified as predatory animals, according to the Wyoming Game and Fish Department.

A third management area in western Wyoming classifies wolves as predatory or trophy game animals depending on the time of year, according to the department’s website.