Following an investigation of a wolf that was tortured and killed in Wyoming, the state Game and Fish department cited a man for possessing a live wolf. The violation carried a $250 fine. Here, a lone female adult wolf trudges through the snow west of Tower Junction in the Northern Range of Yellowstone National Park. Photo by Franz Camenzind
EDITOR’S NOTE: Franz Camenzind holds a B.S. in biology from the University
of Wisconsin - Stevens Point, an M.S. in zoology from Brigham Young University,
and a PhD in zoology from the University of Wyoming. His doctorate research
involved six years of field research on the ecology and behavior of free-ranging
coyotes in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. He served for 13 years as executive
director for the Jackson Hole Conservation Alliance before retiring in 2009.
by Franz Camenzind
A wolf died a few weeks back; a Wyoming wolf, slowly and
deliberately killed at the hands of a snowmobiler exhibiting little respect for
the wolf’s life. Pursued through deep snow until near exhaustion, the wolf was
eventually run over and severely wounded. The young canine was then tied up,
its jaws bound shut with duct tape, and hauled to the pursuers home to be
shock-collared and leashed.
If that barbaric act wasn’t enough, the culprit then
proceeded to haul the traumatized wolf to the local bar and put on exhibit like
an Old West carnival sideshow. Patrons were amused, some recorded videos and
took selfies. All the while the wolf, tied up and muzzled, was left to cower in
the corner, clearly in excruciating pain and fear. Surrounded by sights, sounds, smells and surfaces otherwise
unknown, the tortured wolf was eventually “taken out back” and shot; a sad, but
merciful climax to its hours-long torment.
Thanks to an anonymous tip, Wyoming Game and Fish initiated
an investigation after which the culprit was cited for having a live wolf in
possession, a charge carrying a maximum fine of $250, which he paid. It appears
there were no other Wyoming state laws broken through this heinous act.
Ironically, if the perpetrator had immediately killed the
wolf, he would not have broken any laws and the episode would have likely faded
into Sublette County history, becoming nothing more than a footnote to the
continuing saga of the West’s obsession with killing wolves, and predators in
general. Instead, once made public, the
story of this brutal death elicited
headlines and outrage throughout the country and beyond, being retold countless
times even by international media.
If there is any good to be found in this heartrending story,
it’s that it has focused a spotlight on the archaic wildlife laws and the
societal depth of the anti-wolf, anti-predator prejudices so prevalent
throughout the West, and particularly in Wyoming.
This tragic drama allegedly began in the state’s infamous
wolf “predator zone,” which encompasses 85 percent of Wyoming outside of the
state’s Wolf Trophy Game area, where hunting regulations provide a modicum of
protection and where the above event would have been illegal. Once wolves cross
that arbitrary line into the predator zone, they join the seven other species
officially designated as “predacious wildlife”: porcupines, red fox, stray
cats, raccoons, jack rabbits (yes, jackrabbits), skunks, and coyotes.
Within the predator zone, a wolf, like the other seven
condemned species, can be killed on sight whether it has threatened or caused
harm to anyone or their property—or not. It can be killed at any time day or
night and by nearly any means, including being run to death by snowmachines. No
license or fee required. No accountability, no bag limit, just kill on sight,
and as witnessed in this case: tortured. Wyoming’s animal cruelty laws simply
don’t apply to wildlife designated as “predacious.” They are the lowest caste
of our native wildlife, receiving little to no protection.
In Wyoming, it appears that the ethical treatment of wildlife and “fair chase” are nothing more than euphemisms.
This designation is so controversial and suspect that in
1999 the state removed “predacious species” management from Game and Fish
jurisdiction and quietly assigned it to a new, little-known, single-focus
agency: the Predatory Animal Damage Management Board, whose purpose is to “mitigate[ing] damage caused to
livestock, wildlife and crops by predatory animals, predacious birds and
depredating animals
… ”
The board is
supported by the state’s general fund, Game and Fish appropriations, and by
voluntary fees paid by agriculture interests and individuals. It is not an
agency managing for the betterment of our wildlife. Instead, it’s a control and
eradication agency whose existence and programs tacitly validate and fuel the
public’s erroneous beliefs that predacious animals need to be controlled at all
costs. It’s fair to ask if the board’s actions are supported by best science
and where they stand on the ethical treatment of all wildlife.
Compounding this “anything goes” mentality, the 2023 Wyoming Legislature
passed a law that allows hunters to hunt predators on public land at night with
the use of artificial light, including thermal and infrared imaging and
night-vision goggles. The year prior,
it became legal to use silencers on hunting rifles. And in 2019, a bill
was introduced that would have prohibited the use of snowmobiles to pursue, injure or kill an animal,
including predators. It failed to get out of committee.
The deck long stacked against predators continues to grow. In
Wyoming, it appears that the ethical treatment of wildlife and “fair chase” are
nothing more than euphemisms.
This horrific
episode epitomizes the attitudes of too many westerners who view
predators as threats and competitors; little more than inconvenient and
worthless pests whose elimination, by whatever means has over time morphed into
a fun-filled, recreational blood sport. Witness Wyoming’s annual “Best of the
Best” statewide coyote killing contests with financial and product prizes for
the most and biggest coyotes killed.
Spring in Northwestern Wyoming can mean scavenging for (or subsisting on) winter-kill leftovers. This adult male was found feeding along the Gibbon River in Yellowstone. Photo by Franz Camenzind
The state opines that current anticruelty laws do not apply
to “predacious species,” only game animals and livestock. The ethical treatment
of the public’s wildlife should apply to all wildlife; to all life. It should
not be conditioned on some anthropocentrically applied status, or where it
happens to reside. None of this means that wildlife proven to be causing
significant damage cannot be controlled. However, the death sentence should not
be imposed before guilt is proven, and the execution should be carried out in
an ethical and humane manner.
Existing laws, government agencies and public attitudes towards predatory
animals must change.
Several state leaders in Wyoming have expressed a reluctance,
if not downright opposition to changing the laws. In response to this latest
incident, one legislator, expressing a hesitance for change, said that every
time you try to legislate on an isolated issue, you end up making the loop too
big. Another said that laws written for one case typically don’t pan out as
expected, and that he doubts the Wyoming cruelty statue will be changed due to
this one incident and called it a once in a 100-year “aberration.”
As a reminder, in the winter of 2008 when wolves were first
delisted and their management turned over to the state of Wyoming, an
individual, again in Sublette County, bragged about chasing a wolf for 35 miles
by snowmobile and finally, when the animal was exhausted and likely near death,
the braggard shot the wolf from 30 yards. (Soon after, wolves were relisted and
granted Endangered Species Act protection, then again delisted in 2017 and
since managed by the state.)
These are but two incidents that gained public attention.
How many more, as I’m sure there are, is of course unknown. Add to this the
popular and well-broadcast running down and “whacking” of coyotes which occurs
every winter, and we see a clear pattern to this unethical, however legal,
behavior. This willful torture of wolves, coyotes and other “predacious”
wildlife is not a one-off activity as some claim. It needs to be addressed for
what it is: an ongoing, hateful and ignorance-driven depravity.
We need legislators and agencies to step up and act ... Hope has never been an effective management tool.
The anti-predator prejudice is so imbedded within society
that implementing and enforcing state or national regulations may be the best
way forward. The poaching of a big game animal can result in the confiscation
of the criminal’s weapons and vehicles used in commission of the crime. Stiff
penalties like this do act as deterrents, whereas a narrowly imposed $250 fine
is not a deterrent, and it appears that bad publicity is no more effective.
We must amend or write new laws to criminalize the unethical and cruel treatment of all animals and
to specifically make it illegal to use a “snowmobile to willfully and wantonly
cause the death, injury or undue suffering of any animal, including a predatory
animal,” as the failed 2019 bill proposed. To accomplish this, we need
legislators and agencies to step up and act, not just ramble platitudes and
hope this “once in 100-year aberration” will not be repeated. Hope has never
been an effective management tool.
To this end, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, the
Wyoming Animal Damage Management Board, and our legislators need to come
together and formulate manageable, ethical, and enforceable anti-cruelty laws
for all wildlife. A survey conducted years ago concluded that most westerners
respect information provided by their wildlife agencies over that from all other
agencies and groups.
Now is the time for Wyoming Game and Fish to demonstrate
leadership and initiate a comprehensive, long-term public campaign documenting
the important role these “predacious animals” play in the health of Wyoming’s
environment. It’s time to dispel our anti-predator prejudices and turn the lust
for predator “whacking” into a commitment to respect and protect all native
wildlife. Are our leaders listening? Will they respond with strong anti-cruelty
legislation? Wildlife “whacking” must stop. Our wildlife deserves better.
If this approach fails, the next step might be for public
land managers to prohibit off-road and off-trail snowmobile use.
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About Franz Camenzind
Dr. Franz Camenzind is a wildlife biologist turned filmmaker and environmental activist. In his career he conducted numerous wildlife assessments, often focusing on threatened and endangered species. He has produced award-winning documentary films on coyotes, wolves, grizzly bears, pronghorn antelope, giant pandas, and black rhinos. Although now enjoying retirement in his Jackson, Wyoming home of 54 years, he is still very much involved in local, regional and national environmental issues. He spent 13 years as Executive Director of the Jackson Hole Conservation Alliance. Prior to that, he served on its board for 13 years and was one of the founding board members of the Greater Yellowstone Coalition. In addition, Camenzind writes a column for Mountain Journal called "Wild Ideas," often with a focus on the importance of Wilderness lands.
