Our Letter to Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon

Governor Mark Gordon

State Capitol Building, room 124

Cheyanne, Wyoming 82002

4/17/2024

Dear Governor Gordon,

I am writing you today on behalf of the more than 5000 members of Bold Visions Conservation to make clear that we demand jailtime and serious prosecution of Cody Roberts for the torture of the yearling wolf. In addition, we feel strongly that Child Protective Services should inspect his home and that the patrons at the bar who participated in the torture of the wolf, be prosecuted.

But let’s begin with reality, the Wyoming Game and Fish Commission is nothing but a disgrace. They live to kill predators, support trophy hunters and give trappers the chance to torture at will. They bear responsibility for the carnage that just took place. Wyoming, like Idaho and Montana continue to support livestock interests that abuse our public lands, they lobby to kill all life on these public lands, and do so with the support of your radical and out of touch legislature.

Wildlife is perhaps your states most important treasure, yet it is treated without respect; it is hunted non-stop, trapped and even allowed to be killed by snowmobiles. That is not sport, it is slob recreation.

What you are making clear is that your state like Idaho and Montana are not equipped to manage predator species. I look to federal officials to relist wolves and never delist grizzlies following this upcoming election and we will do all in our power to make that a reality.

I am also committed to a campaign to stop people from traveling to your state. We will work to educate people that your state supports the slaughter of wolves and other vital wildlife. Thus they should avoid visitation.

The continued misinformation on wolves and grizzlies in your state allow the uneducated and incurious to continue a campaign of terror on wildlife and it seems clear you and other elected officials will continue to turn your back on these vital creatures and the National Park that is crucial to your state’s economy. Your kill zones around it are yet another way for people to destroy all that is wild, without concern or consideration to what they are destroying.

It is long past time for corrective measures and we hope this situation will lead to real reform of your Commission, agency and the laws that allowed this piece of human garbage to kill and torture an innocent yearling wolf.

With real anger and frustration,

Stephen Capra

Executive Director

Bold Visions Conservation

Orgy of Horror

by Stephen Capra, Bold Visions Conservation

The photos in this article are all of wild and free animals; I think we have all had enough horror lately to last a lifetime.

Today, Wyoming Game and Fish will meet to talk about the fetish torture and killing of a gray wolf in their state. The monster responsible for this is Cody Roberts, a man devoid of human emotions, a killer, and a person who decided to use his energy to torture this poor wolf in unspeakable ways.

Few images are as emblazed into my consciousness as the one with this wolf's mouth taped shut. This man deserves to be placed at the gates of hell for his actions. But so too do the people in the bar who relished what was occurring and got involved in the torture of this badly wounded animal. This is the reality we face today; ranchers and those in rural America are dedicated to the destruction of wolves in the wild. They bait, call out, and do all they can to destroy these animals. They are given full access, thanks to the Game commissions in Idaho, Wyoming, and Montana; their actions represent their commitment to ranchers, trophy hunting, and trapping interests.

It is no wonder that Mr. Roberts felt so giddy at the chance to destroy the life of such an innocent creature; these commissions practically green light any means of killing wolves-traps, archery, shooting, running over in snowmobiles. We are not dealing with real sportsmen, but human slobs that wear their ignorance on their sleeves and believe anything they are told about wolves, and their sources are livestock interests and sportsmen's organizations that are determined to control wildlife for killing on our public lands.

Today, Wyoming Game and Fish will allow testimony, but there is no plan to punish this psychopath; instead, this commission remains dedicated to the destruction of all predator species that will listen and ignore. The governor's statement that they are the best in the world is laughable, but they are some of the worst.

Nothing has affected me and others in my organization as much as this. Still, as trappers have told me, we want to break your poor liberal heart, then we know we are winning. I continue to ask, where is child protective services? How can they allow children to live with a man who displays torture with a smile? Why is he not in jail? Why is the so-called game commission not revoking his hunting privileges for life?

This man displayed the worst humanity has to offer, and this wolf will not die in vain! We must continue to push, and I also believe that those in the bar, except for the hero who told authorities about this, the whole lot should also be sent to jail.

All of this comes back to the reality that Martha Williams has blood on her hands and continues to allow wolves to be managed by the states, all so Jon Tester can be reelected. Senator Tester needs to understand that wolves are not what will prevent his reelection.

We cannot allow rural America and trophy hunters to dictate wildlife policy. If Biden wins after the election, the US Fish and Wildlife Service must relist wolves and make clear that grizzlies will not be delisted. These states need to pay the price for their ignorance.

It's time that these bastards learn a hard lesson, and we must stop reintroducing wolves until we can stop the slaughter and end the narrative "of these poor ranchers." They should not be allowed to kill predators if they are grazing on public lands.

Wildlife is not on this earth to be tortured. Those who think they can break our hearts need to understand clearly: we will pass laws to end trapping and to stop your ability to chase and kill wolves, coyotes, and any other viable wildlife. We will end your reign and bring your ability to kill predators to an end.

Today, Wyoming Game and Fish has a chance to do what is right; my guess is they will punt and close the circle around the very people they have given license to kill without science or logic. This time, their actions have allowed a very sick individual to destroy, torture, and harm in every way he could think, an animal that will never leave my heart or mind.

For this reason, he should never enjoy a day of peace again in his miserable life. We cannot sit idly; we must demand change for the animals that bring us wonder and joy.

Ignorance in 2024 must be crushed. This terrible incident must be the fuse that lights a path for change.

Please take a moment and write to the Wyoming Wildlife Commissioners and Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon. Make clear the following:

• This man must serve serious jail time.

• He must be fined far more than $250

• Child protective services must inspect his home.

• He must lose all hunting and fishing privileges for life.

• Those in the bar who participated in this torture must also face jail time and fines.

• Make clear you will only visit Wyoming once change comes.

Write the head of the US Fish and Wildlife Service, Martha Williams.

• Make clear she has blood on her hands. This incident clarifies that the states of Idaho, Wyoming, and Montana cannot manage predator species, wolves must be relisted, and grizzlies cannot be delisted, period.

• Tell her to do her job and stop allowing the destruction and torture of our wildlife.

• Include a picture of the wolf if you can.

The Slaughter of Innocence

by Stephen Capra, Bold Visions Conservation

We just learned of the savage violence that one man can inflict on wildlife. The man, if you can call him that, Cody Roberts, went into a bar with a wolf whose mouth was taped shut. He had worn the wolf out by chasing him with a snowmobile and ran him over before showing off the terrified animal to the patrons of the bar, then took it out back and shot it, likely laughing.

This disgraceful act is the direct result of the livestock industry, trophy hunting interests, the Game and Fish Commissions of Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana, and the leadership of these states. They have done all they can to make wolves the enemy. They use ignorance and cowboy ideas of wildlife to allow some of the most important species to be hanging on in lands where they should be thriving.

Why can a person use a snowmobile to wear out an animal? Who calls this sport? Many sportsmen in these states have a lot to answer for! They support trappers; they do not hunt with a leopolian approach. Instead, they use drones and guns with long-range scopes; they set up on the border of Yellowstone and bait and call out wildlife. This is not hunting; it is a disgrace.

Game and Fish Commissioners, who should enforce more ethics and use science to guide them, are political pawns. They answer to their Governors, who want predators destroyed. Governor Gianforte, besides wishing to sell off public lands, enjoyed killing a wolf that had suffered in a trap for days; he killed a collared Yellowstone Mountain lion; why? Because he lacks the ethics to be a real sportsman.

This takes us back to Cody Roberts, a person who clearly thought the horror he imposed on this animal was all just good fun. Besides the fact that he should be sent to federal prison and never be allowed to hunt, trap, or be around any animal, the odds are he will get a $250 fine.

We live in some of the most beautiful lands in the world, and we have more diversity of wildlife than we ever could people. Yet there remains a “kill” mentality towards wildlife and wolves in particular. The time has come for a change in Montana and these other states. We must rebuild from the ground up the Game and Fish agencies, which in Montana have gone from great to an embarrassment.

There remains cruelty towards many species that radiates in the rural parts of our state. Trappers show the callousness that Mr. Roberts displayed; you can find it in their posts. Martha Williams, the head of the US Fish and Wildlife Service, had the chance to relist wolves but allowed politics to overrule the need to end this slaughter. She should be forced out if Biden wins reelection.

We live in a painful time for wildlife, one that, in generations to come, will be viewed as barbaric, ignorant, and sad. If Wyoming had the courage, Mr. Roberts would pay a severe price for this malicious action. But the odds are the agency and commission will write him off as just a bad apple. The reality remains the real bad apples are on the commissions; they are in our capitol, and all of this makes clear that these states have no business managing wolves, grizzlies, or any other species that is not a deer or an elk.

People are outraged, and well, they should be; this is not ethical hunting, and it is happening more and more as states like Idaho push to allow wolves to be trapped by outfitters and suffer for days before a slob client shows up to shoot the wolf, we must force real change. This is not human behavior; it is dangerous and sick behavior.

This should never be allowed, and moving forward, we must demand respect for all species and an end to violence against wildlife. We must also push for jail sentences for those who live to torture and harm such innocence.

Bold Visions demands that Cody Roberts of Daniel, Wyoming, be jailed for animal cruelty by the Sublette County Sheriff's Office. We believe such cruelty requires him to be subject to psychological evaluation. In addition, Cody Roberts should not be allowed to own a pet. We demand that the Wyoming Game & Fish Department ban Cody Roberts for life from hunting and trapping privileges. This kind of behavior is abnormal and cannot continue unchecked.