By now, you have likely read or heard about the heartbreaking torture and killing of a wolf in Wyoming.1 The details are horrific. This yearling wolf–who some have named Theia–was run down by a 700-pound snowmobile and incapacitated, her mouth was taped shut, and she was paraded, clinging to life, around a local bar, before being killed out back. This was torture.
The attacker–Cody Roberts, of Wyoming–was able to legally crush the young wolf with a snowmobile and ultimately kill and skin her because gray wolves in Wyoming are not protected under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and have nearly no protections in the state.
Without the protections of the ESA, wolves can be killed on sight in 85 percent of the state of Wyoming. That means that a wolf can be trapped, shot, or crushed by a snowmobile, and that state and federal animal cruelty and conservation laws do not apply.
The attacker’s only infraction, as far as Wyoming is concerned, was not killing her faster.
These wolves need protection, Mitch. We are working with our partners on the ground in Wyoming to support change at the state level and we are leading the charge in pushing Congress and the Administration to finally protect gray wolves under federal law.
In the Interior Department’s February 2nd decision not to protect wolves in Wyoming and the region, the agency quoted the current Secretary of the Interior, Deb Haaland, in saying, “I am committed to ensuring that wolves have the conservation they need to survive and thrive in the wild based on science and law…”
A mere 26 days later, Theia was tortured and killed. While Secretary Haaland may not have envisioned the brutality that would follow her agency’s decision, Wyoming’s intolerance for wolves was and is well known. And if her commitment is sincere, it is time to act and protect wolves under the Endangered Species Act.
Make a gift to keep us in the fight to save wolves in the Western United States and beyond.
The Endangered Species Coalition is a leader in the fight to regain Endangered Species Act protections for gray wolves in the Western United States and everywhere else they face unbearable threats.
We have organized Congressional letters-of-support for protection and brought experts to Washington, DC to make the case for saving these wolves.
We bring hundreds of conservation organizations together around the shared goal of fighting for wolves.
We mobilize hundreds of thousands of activists to pressure decision-makers to act. Our request of the Administration has not wavered. And we are not going anywhere.
The fight for justice for Theia and for change to protect wolves will not be easy. While there is widespread condemnation of the attacker’s actions–so far, no state or federal officials have committed to change. When this moment fades from the spotlight, we need to have made real progress in protecting wolves from future attacks and to allow them to recover. I hope that you will join us in this fight with a gift of any amount today.
Thank you for your commitment to wolves and wildlife. .
Sincerely,
Susan Holmes
Executive Director
Endangered Species Coalition
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PS. Are the links not working? Please support our work to save wolves at this URL: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/save-wolves-nationally2
1. https://www.endangered.org/wyoming-wolf-tortured-and-killed-usfws-must-act/
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