Wildlife cannot speak. Pets cannot vote. But YOU can. Act now!

Wolf photo above by Julia Cook.

How should you say it? We offer talking points to think about and to help you compose your comments in your own words.

Why is brutal cruelty permitted to any wild animal in Wyoming?

• It’s time to bring an end to animal cruelty in Wyoming in the following ways:
  • Pass an updated law that will criminalize harm and killing by vehicular methods of all wildlife.
  • Amend the Wyoming cruelty statutes to confirm that all wildlife are included in the list of protected animals and that the behaviors exhibited in the Daniel, WY case, such as capture of an injured animal, torture, and torment of wildlife, are prohibited.

• Killing wild animals with vehicles goes against the ethical standards laid out by the North American Wildlife Model and directly violates fair chase, respect for, and humane killing of wild animals. In any other situation, this behavior would receive a felony animal cruelty charge. Predatory species in Wyoming still deserve protection from abuse, and no animal, whether domestic or wild, deserves to be treated with such outrageous aggression, brutality, and violence. (provided by @wildlifefor all)
• Please amend the laws to prohibit the overrunning of all wildlife by vehicles. People across the state and from our entire nation agreed that the circumstances under which the wolf was captured and killed in February were inhumane. Wildlife watchers, hunters, and the public all agree: this isn’t a fair chase, this isn’t management — it’s animal cruelty, and it needs to end.
• No animal deserves to be tortured and suffer that kind of prolonged pain before death.
• Written public comments discussed the paramount concern that animal welfare and the mistreatment of animals go against the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation:
  • There is a need for responsible predator management to support agricultural and wildlife management.
  • An overview of the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation highlights a distinction between legitimate predator management for agriculture and wildlife management. Other activities are legal under Wyoming law but conflict with the tenets of the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation.
  • There is concern about the lack of fair chase, particularly when using mechanized vehicles that can exceed most animals’ speeds or sustain speeds that an animal cannot.
  • Concern over the possession and transport of an injured animal, instead of putting it down humanely, and the subsequent public display of a live and injured animal.
  • A core issue is the lack of decency and respect for wildlife.
  • The legislature must seek ways to discriminate between certain behaviors that should or should not be legal under Wyoming law regarding predator management.
  • Torture should never be involved in protecting livestock or hunting.
  • At the Wyoming Sportsperson Conference in Dubois, Governor Gordon stated, “I don’t think there’s any reason why people need to run over animals.” We don’t either!
  • Running over any animal with a snowmobile or other vehicular means should result in the strictest punishment allowed by law, period.
  • Urge the legislators to continue addressing the cruelty issue and vehicular killing of wildlife. It is wrong, and the public overwhelmingly favors changing Wyoming laws to totally restrict it.
  • If someone intentionally tortures and brutalizes an animal in Wyoming, they will face the highest degree of consequences.
  • This behavior undermines the traditions and values of humane treatment in Wyoming.
  • ALL wildlife, including furbearers and non-game animals, should be protected from brutal cruelty. This includes protections from barbaric trapping and snaring.
  • Please do the right thing, address animal cruelty, and create a humane Wyoming!

• In 2020, following a disturbing video displayed publicly showing coyote whacking in Wyoming: the legal chasing, harassing, and brutally running over a coyote with a snowmobile until its death, WU submitted a draft legislative bill via Representative Mike Yin and Senator Mike Gireau to restrict this gruesome activity. The bill did not make it to a committee:
  • WU sent all 90 legislators a copy of the whacking video. This recent incident is not a one-up but has been happening for decades.
  • This is a common winter activity in certain districts of the state.
  • It has been six years since the legislature became publicly aware of this activity; it is time for our state laws to change.
•  A recent poll of Wyoming voters conducted by the Humane Society of the U.S. found:
  • 71% of voters, including majorities across all political parties and ideologies, believe the actions in the wolf incident are animal cruelty.
  • Across the board, an average of 3-in-4 Wyoming residents believe that it is not acceptable to use snowmobiles to kill animals classified as “predators” in Wyoming. This includes wolves, coyotes, foxes, jackrabbits, porcupines, raccoons, and domestic cats, which are classified as “stray” by the state.
  • A majority of voters (58%), including majorities across all major media markets in the state, would support changing the law to prohibit snowmobiles from pursuing, striking, injuring, and killing wolves and other previously mentioned animals.
• A 2024 national survey conducted by Colorado State University’s Animal Human Policy
  Center, in collaboration with Project Coyote, explored U.S. public perspectives on a
  range of animal protection issues. The survey examined support for key animal welfare
  policies that are currently being discussed by policy-makers and stakeholders nationwide,
  including multiple issues related to wildlife and wild carnivore killing. A summary of key
  findings is included below, as well as a link to the full report:
  

• 85% support for a federal law specifying that cruelty towards wildlife is a criminal violation.
• 80% support for banning purposefully running over wild carnivores with vehicles.
• For all case studies examined, the majority of respondents somewhat or strongly agreed with all potential proposed state or federal policies to reduce human-caused animal suffering.
• More than 75% of respondents somewhat or strongly supported most proposed state or federal policies supporting animal welfare, and support for related state policies was typically slightly higher than for federal policies.