Wyoming Bill That Would Ban Running Over Wolves and Coyotes with Snowmobiles Fails

Despite garnering support from the hunting and outdoors community, the Taking of Predators on Public Lands bill along with another amendment to another anti-animal torture bill both failed last week in Wyoming. 

I have to admit, on the surface, it seemed to me like a non-sensical form of killing wolves, coyotes and other predators. In earnest, I blindly supported the bill based on the actions taken by one Wyoming man last winter. After mowing down a wolf with a snowmachine in Daniel, Wyoming last year, the man then paraded the near-dead animal about town before shooting it behind a bar. 

It was an outrageous situation and certainly one I wouldn’t want to be associated with. On the heels of the incident, the pressure has been applied to Wyoming lawmakers to make a change to the way these predators are pursued. I, like many others, supported the bills that would remove snowmachines from the list of available equipment allowable to kill wolves and coyotes.

But with news this week of the bills being defeated, I lent an ear to those advocating for their use. 

I live in Florida and I am neither a Wyoming rancher nor a stock grower. I’m the farthest thing from it.

As it turns out, the bills were defeated solely by the agricultural community who have stated, rather bluntly, that the use of snowmachines are a necessary tool they require to manage domestic livestock. 

“I’ve talked to too many producers, particularly sheep producers, that say using snowmachines has become a tool for them,” says Jim Magagna, executive vice president of the Wyoming Stock Growers Association.

Despite the incident that took place in a bar last year - which undoubtedly tarnished Wyoming’s reputation - it’s important to remember that this fellow does not represent hunters as much as he does not represent state livestock producers.

Both the bill and the amendment would have continued to allow people to run down predators on private land, but would bar the activity on public lands. The argument from the ranching community is that given that they ranch on a mixture of private and public lands, the bill would only hinder them further in protecting their livestock.

So while the ability to chase predators with snowmobiles remains in tact in the state of Wyoming, an anti-animal torture bill did make its way through the House and is now in the Senate. That bill dictates simply that once a wild animal is in someone’s possession, they must take the appropriate action to kill it as quickly and as humanely as possible.

As someone who was appalled at the way the wolf was treated in Daniel last year, I can say with confidence that I support the aforementioned bill which mandates that we treat the animals we pursue with respect. As far as the method of pursuit is concerned, this was the first time a bill set to ban the pursuit of predators by snowmachine has garnered this much support. 

While it’s not a method of chase that I would participate in personally, I respect those that do and trust that they adhere to dispatching of the animal as quickly as possible following capture.