{"id":45839,"date":"2026-04-09T15:37:45","date_gmt":"2026-04-09T15:37:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/?p=45839"},"modified":"2026-04-09T15:37:45","modified_gmt":"2026-04-09T15:37:45","slug":"man-who-hit-wolf-with-snowmobile-killed-it-at-bar-gets-18-months-probation-national","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/?p=45839","title":{"rendered":"Man who hit wolf with snowmobile, killed it at bar, gets 18 months\u2019 probation – National"},"content":{"rendered":"


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A judge in Wyoming sentenced a man to 18 months of probation for hitting a wolf with a snowmobile before taping the wounded animal\u2019s mouth shut and bringing it into a rural bar before killing it.<\/p>\n

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Sweetwater County District Judge Richard Lavery sentenced Cody Roberts, 44, to the probation on Wednesday, in accordance with a plea deal<\/a> the accused reached with prosecutors in February.<\/p>\n

Roberts was also fined US$1,000 and another $425 in fees. Lavery ordered him not to drink alcohol, enter a bar or liquor store, nor hunt or fish while on probation.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI have to be honest with you, Mr. Roberts,\u201d Lavery said. \u201cThe charge in this case is disturbing.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Lavery acknowledged that Wyoming law gives wide leeway for people to kill wolves and other predators by a variety of means in the state.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt can\u2019t be done in a cruel manner,\u201d the judge said. \u201cIt\u2019s not that you captured a wolf, it\u2019s what happened after.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lavery said that the \u201ckeeping of the animal was cruel\u201d and \u201cthat was the crime.\u201d<\/p>\n

The incident took place in February 2024 in Daniel, Wyo., a town of about 150 people. Roberts used a snowmobile to pursue and run over a wolf before taping its jaw closed and taking it to the Green River Bar to display it before taking it out back and killing it. Roberts took a photo beside the wolf with its mouth taped shut, which was shared on social media.<\/p>\n

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Roberts told Lavery at his change-of-plea hearing in March that he regretted what he did and apologized to his family and community.<\/p>\n

Roberts avoided two years in prison and a $5,000 fine by pleading guilty. He initially pleaded not guilty, and a trial was set for March.<\/p>\n

At the outset, he paid a $250 fine for illegal possession of wildlife but was indicted on the animal cruelty<\/a> charge by a Wyoming grand jury last year.<\/p>\n

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Animal Wellness Action and the Center for a Humane Economy are urging Congress to \u201ctake action to forbid the practice on all federal lands\u201d following Roberts\u2019 sentencing.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe organizations are calling on Wyoming lawmakers to lead the charge to pass the Snowmobiles Are Not Weapons (SAW) Act, given the disgust that so many Wyoming residents feel for this extreme cruelty to wildlife,\u201d the organization wrote in a press release<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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