A grand jury in Wyoming has indicted a man who allegedly struck a wolf with his snowmobile, taped its muzzle shut and paraded it in a bar before taking it outside to kill it.
In April 2024, Cody Roberts paid a $250 fine for the illegal possession of wildlife, however never faced charges of animal cruelty as investigators could not find cooperative witnesses. The laws in Wyoming list multiple reasons people can legally kill a wolf.
Just recently, investigators contend they were able to find enough evidence and presented it to a 12 person grand jury charging Roberts with felony animal cruelty.
Animal advocates had expressed outrage towards the Wyoming hunter as he paraded the wounded wild animal in a bar with its muzzle taped shut. And if that wasn’t revolting enough, a family member later reenacted the scene about the tortured wolf mocking the public’s outrage.
According to WyoFile.com, the shocking photo of Cody Roberts, 42, smiling while raising a can of beer holding the live wolf taped up around his mouth, shocked both the community and the country.
The photo sparked disgust and a petition circulated demanding Roberts face felony animal cruelty charges.
If convicted, Roberts faces up to two years in prison and/or a $5,000 fine.
Although wolves remain listed as federally endangered in most of the country, they have no protection in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming where they can be both trapped and hunted.
Read prior coverage here and here.
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