With all respect, the author of the opinion piece "Wolf abuse case points to need for some (targeted) changes" does not have a grasp of the breadth of this situation.
It is naïve to believe that Cody Roberts is the only person who has ever done this. His transgression was publicized, but he isn’t the only tormentor. If you believe his acts were the result of an episode of “poor judgment,” you are minimizing what are the actions of a person completely lacking in empathy with a dangerous cruel streak.
Some Wyoming outfitters offer coyote- and wolf-whacking as an “sporting” option for out-of-state hunters. Designating 85% of the state as a predator zone, allowing wolves to be killed anywhere, at any time, for any reason, in any manner, is not a management program. It is a response to the irrational, pervasive hatred ranchers and the like have for wolves. And sadly, hunters and trappers are (Wyoming Game and Fish’s) bread and butter.
Wolves are wildlife, just as antelope, elk, moose, deer and other species are. But you have to have a license to kill these animals in designated areas within designated time periods. No one would reasonably criticize a rancher who shoots a wolf that is stalking his livestock.
Wyoming is finally getting what it deserves – the national and global spotlight on the failure of WGF and the Legislature to create a scientific wolf management plan. Killing wolves randomly simply because the opportunity presents itself is not a “gold standard,” by any measure.
Cody Roberts may have brought this issue to a head, but this battle has been brewing for a long, long time. It is time to give wolf management back to the feds: WGF is too beholden to the agricultural community to affect any meaningful change in wolf policy.
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