The 2025 legislative session exhibited a focus on wildlife killing, especially predators. This included wolves, coyotes, bears, and mountain lions. There was little recognition of science, healthy ecosystems, impacts on tourism, positive influence of predator control of disease (CWD), or modeling healthy behavior – hunting – for our youth.
HB45 – Removing otters as protected animals – Passed.
House Vote: Ayes 52, Nays 8, Excused 2. Senate Vote: Ayes 22, Nays 9.
Sponsor Representative Byron. Co-sponsors Representatives Banks, Davis, Haroldson, Schmid, Williams, Winter, and Senators Crago, Dockstader, Driskill, and Landen.
HB45 was introduced by the sponsor as a necessity for controlling the otter “pests” that are destroying fish in privately stocked ponds in Western Wyoming. HB45 introduces a big change in the protection of otters, striking them from a list of species that have been protected animals for seventy-two years. Other protected species in Wyoming include black-footed ferret, fisher, lynx, pika, and wolverine. Because otters in Wyoming have been a protected species since 1953 the Wyoming Game and Fish Department (WGFD) indicated it needed otter reclassification to a nongame species which provides more latitude to deal with problem-causing otters. HB45 allows for relocating them from private ponds or killing them as necessary. Otherwise, WGFD testified they cannot effectively address the concerns of the owners of the ponds.
Wildlife advocates urging a no vote on HB45 mentioned the American river otters went on Wyoming’s protected species list in 1953 because they were nearly eradicated in Wyoming as a result of several factors: unregulated trapping, degraded riparian areas, local pollution, and federal and state dams. Fortunately, in Wyoming otters were never fully exterminated due to protection in Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks. For the past 70 years they have slowly recolonized riparian areas in western Wyoming, particularly along parts of the Green, Yellowstone, and Snake rivers.
Testimony in committee meetings by scientist Dr. Merav Ben-David, the world’s foremost river otter expert, emphasized that otter recovery has been extremely slow in Wyoming compared to other states. Biologists do not know why otter recovery has been slow. Therefore, she suggested this issue needs to be researched further before otters are removed from protection. HB45 is a premature decision and is not based on scientific data. In addition, there are nonlethal tools available for deterring otters which should be utilized before drastic measures like trapping are allowed. Conservationists expressed concern that otter pelts are an attractive target for trappers, due to the density of the hair coat (thicker than beaver pelts). They retail at $90–$150. The otter could be eradicated once again.
HB211 Hunting Wildlife from vehicles. Passed.
House Vote: Ayes 50, Nays 2, Excused 1. Senate Vote: Ayes 27, Nays 4.
Bill sponsor Rep. Allemand. Co-sponsors, Reps. Angelos, Johnson, and Senators Ide and Laursen.
HB211 was introduced by Rep. Allemand on behalf of a constituent in Natrona County who was fined by a game warden for shooting prairie dogs from his truck. The goal of the bill was to clarify in statute that gunning prairie dogs and some other species from trucks is legal on private land in Wyoming. The constituent testified that “this is what we do in Wyoming. We shoot pests”. Proponents of the bill also indicated that prairie dogs are a detriment to the agriculture community because they create hazardous conditions for livestock grazing.
Testimony against HB211 suggested that the wildlife described as pests are actually important and beneficial rodents that have been largely eradicated from Wyoming due to this type of accepted activity. These “pests” are critical members of ecosystems that provide food for other predators such as birds like hawks and burrowing owls, and other mammals such as the black-footed ferret, swift fox, and coyotes. Any prairie species that eats meat definitely eats prairie dogs.
Arguments against HB211 suggested that prairie species like prairie dogs have been eradicated in many places since white colonization of the west. HB211 continues this eradication process and does not recognize that prairie ecosystems depend on prairie dogs. Their underground communities of mazes and tunnels provide shelter for black-footed ferrets, burrowing owls, swift foxes, insects, salamanders, lizards, badgers, and prairie rattlesnakes. Prairie dogs help plants to flourish. After they prune grass and plants, the growth of nutritious grass is improved. Historically bison and horses benefited from this growth.
Additionally, the ammunition used to shoot these animals leaves lead fragments that are then eaten by predators that feed on the carcasses. Although lead poisons any animal that consumes it, raptors are readily killed by lead; a fragment as small as a grain of rice can kill an eagle. Lead fragments also contaminate the soil and create dangerous conditions for all wildlife and livestock.
HB275 Treatment of animals – Passed.
House Vote: Ayes 57, Nays 3, Excused 2. Senate Vote: Ayes 27, Nays 4.
Bill sponsor Rep. Bryan. Co-sponsors Reps. Schmid, Singh, Williams, and Senators Barlow, Hutchings Nethercott, and Olsen.
After ten months of deliberations, HB275 was proposed to deal with the public outcry about the “wolf incident” in Daniel, Wyoming, in February 2024. After Cody Roberts chased down a young wolf on his snowmobile he ignited a nationwide outcry about Wyoming’s treatment of predators. He took the injured wolf to his home, taped its mouth shut, and then took it to a local bar where the injured and dying wolf was taunted for several hours before it was killed in the back of the bar. Because the incident was filmed by a bar customer and it became a headline article in the news, the public was once again exposed to a Wyoming ‘sport’ called yote whacking or yote mashing.
Afraid of losing millions of dollars of predator control funds, initially state agencies in charge of managing wildlife asserted openly that this incident was not typical Wyoming behavior. However, vivid examples of this sport available on social media immediately cast another dark shadow on the state agencies. Unable to quiet global outrage and the national public outcry, they eventually admitted that running over predators with snowmobiles is a lucrative sport in Wyoming and has been practiced for over 50 years. In fact, spokesmen for the agricultural industry admitted that yote whacking is practiced as a useful tool to control predators, especially coyotes. This sport, along with wildlife killing contests, brings in wildlife mercenaries from other states as well as Wyoming enthusiasts. It is big business.
Adding to the disturbing news, the public learned that although the Wyoming Game and Fish Department (WGFD) fined Mr. Roberts $250 dollars for possessing a live wild animal, he could have been taken to court and issued a larger fine. When it was revealed that Mr. Roberts was employed by WGFD as a contractor, the issue became even more unsettling. To this day the Sublette County (sparsely populated rural county with 8,728 residents) Sheriff’s Office and the prosecutor’s office have not concluded their investigation. It is anticipated that in an isolated area where everyone knows each other, the case will be left open indefinitely.
The legislature’s Travel, Recreation, Wildlife, and Cultural Resources Committee (TRW) was assigned the job of settling this public conflict. The TRW’s working group, overseen by the agricultural industry and allied agency representatives such as the Wyoming Farm Bureau and Wyoming Wildlife Federation, initially proposed bill HB0003, Animal abuse-predatory animals. This bill explicitly sanctioned the practice of recreationally running over wildlife with snowmobiles but stiffened penalties for keeping struck, wounded animals alive. It was later replaced with HB275. In discussions about proposed legislation, the main issue was that the agriculture community will not accept
any changes to statutes that allow for running over animals with snowmobiles or other motorized vehicles. It wants to keep running over predators a legal practice. HB275 requires that the snowmobilers who intentionally strike animals must make a reasonable effort to immediately kill the injured or incapacitated animal. The focus is on rapid killing of a predator run over by a snowmobile. This ludicrous statement “if you kill the animal as quickly as possible, there is no torture involved” angered a public already incredulous about the TRW committee’s product outcome.
The fact is that the HB275 bill does not address the public’s concerns. Arguments presented during committee hearings included: First, that yote mashing and killing wildlife for sport, outside of hunting season, is not acceptable. Second, the act of running down wildlife with a 700-pound machine until the animal is exhausted, running back and forth over it and smashing it, reducing it to ‘possession’, is torture. Third, public lands and wildlife are held in trust for the public. A shared wildlife plan with public input is lacking in Wyoming. Fourth, ethical hunters never chase or harass wildlife with a machine. This behavior violates a basic tenet of the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation: wildlife should be killed for legitimate purposes only. Fifth, killing wildlife when confirmed livestock losses are documented is understandable. But killing for fun is not acceptable. Sixth, it is well documented that torturing animals often leads to increased infractions of unacceptable behavior such as abusing humans, often in intra-familial crimes such as incest, rape, and assault. Seventh, it is well established in science that unregulated killing of predators does not control numbers. Predators self-regulate. Nonlethal predator control should be pursued. Eighth, the killing of predators is well funded by the Wyoming Animal Damage Management Board (ADMB) and the 19 county-based predator management districts (four counties lack such districts). Because predator control activities are well funded by federal and state funds, supplemented by a predator fee levied on livestock, and in some years, cash transfers from WGFD to the ADMB, why does the agricultural community need to condone yote mashing on public lands?
Recognizing that HB275 does not address the public’s definition of wildlife torture, Rep. Schmid introduced HB331, the taking of predators on public lands. He suggested to the Legislature that Wyoming has developed a negative public opinion which will not change until this issue is resolved. The public will not allow it to disappear. HB331 would have made it illegal to conduct yote whacking on public lands but allowing the agriculture community to maintain this practice on private land. The bill failed.
HB286 Mountain Lion Hunting Season Changes.
Died in House TRW Committee.
Bill Sponsor Rep. Schmid; Co-Sponsors Reps. Allemand, Haroldson, Webber, Wharff, Winter, and Senator Driskill.
Similar to the idea in HB186 (Grizzly bear coupons) that proposed there should be no restrictions on hunting bears, HB286 proposed the same ideas for mountain lions. Like other wildlife species almost completely eradicated in Wyoming, mountain lions have been protected since 1973 from extinction. HB286 would have instituted a new legal “free for all” with no restrictions on using traps or snares. Also, HB286 would have allowed for unlimited per person kills, hunting without a specific lion hunting license day and night. Very alarming was the idea that Wyoming Game and Fish Department (WGFD) would be restricted from setting any limits on lion killing or numbers killed. Historically WGFD has regulated the number of mountain lions that can be killed each year based on science using current data of mountain lion population health throughout the state. Taking away the ability of WGFD to regulate mountain lion hunting threatens the overall population with possible overkill or decimation within areas of the state.
Because some bill sponsors engage in trapping, opponents voiced concerns that the end goal might be the sale of mountain lion parts on the international market of trapped animal parts. This concept is against the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation espoused by many hunting organizations in Wyoming.
The bill sponsor introduced HB286 claiming that mule deer populations are low and the cause is mountain lions. Outfitters in some areas of the state also supported this idea due to losing revenue from mountain lion trophy hunters in their areas of operation. However, other hunting advocacy groups testified against the bill. The Wyoming Houndsman Association stated that the bill sponsor did not present data to confirm his statements. This organization and other conservationists indicated that reduction in mule deer numbers was due to other causes such as drought, disease, loss of habitat, and oil and gas development. They argued that science demonstrates mountain lions are an integral and valued component of a healthy ecosystem. It is well established in science that mountain lions prey on deer that are infected with chronic wasting disease (CWD). This behavior benefits deer populations by reducing the spread of this disease which is deadly. Therefore, HB286’s proposed eradication of mountain lions would facilitate the spread of CWD.
The drastic killing plan in HB286 calling for a “no strings attached” eradication of mountain lions was seen as a demonstration of why Wyoming should not be given control of wildlife management when it comes to bears, mountain lions, wolves, and other predators. The controversial proposals to eradicate or control predators via unscientific and extreme measures by allowing limitless trapping and hunting raised increased concerns for wildlife organizations concerned with wildlife stewardship in the state.
–– Sylvia Bagdonas worked for the State of Wyoming for 30 years in crime victims’ assistance services, tobacco prevention and behavioral health services. Sylvia holds a bachelor’s Degree from Colorado State University and a Master’s Degree in Psychology, Counseling and Guidance from the University of Northern Colorado. Her interest in animal welfare evolved from growing up on a farm where ethical treatment of animals was a priority. Factory farms and puppy mills were unimaginable. In the early 1980s Sylvia volunteered with the Animal Care Center in Laramie. From Sherman and Lois Mast Sylvia learned a lot about Wyoming’s ineffective animal
protection record. Sylvia has always fostered animals.
Her interest in animal welfare extends to wildlife, livestock, and companion animals. Sylvia co-founded WYCAP in 2019
