A Wyoming man convicted of animal abuse by tormenting a wolf, taking pictures, then killing it, avoided jail Wednesday after he was sentenced to 18 months of probation— a decision that earned praise from a national environmental group.
Watch the video below:
Cody Roberts of Daniel must also pay a $1,000 fine and is prohibited from hunting, fishing or collecting shed antlers, according to the sentencing handed down by Sublette County Judge Richard Lavery. He also may not use or store alcohol or enter bars and other liquor establishments, and he must complete a treatment plan for alcohol abuse.
If Roberts fails to comply with the conditions of the probation, he could be sentenced to prison for 18 to 24 months and pay an additional fine of $4,000, according to the Cowboy State Daily.
Roberts was charged after photos of him holding a live wolf in a muzzle in a bar surfaced on social media in February 2024. He told authorities he had struck the wolf with a snowmobile, and wildlife experts believed it was suffering before it died.
He was initially issued a $250 fine by the Wyoming Game and Fish Department for possessing warm-blooded wildlife, according to WyoFile, and prosecutors in Sublette County filed a charge of felony animal cruelty in August following national outcry.
On Wednesday, Nicholas Arrivo, managing attorney of animal protection law for Humane World for Animals, praised the sentencing.
“Judge Lavery’s sentence today represents an important step in American anti-cruelty law. The prosecution team did the right thing by pursuing this case and ensuring that Cody Roberts was held accountable for his cruelty in a case that shocked the public around the world. All animals deserve meaningful legal safeguards against such abject violence. This torture and suffering of an animal should never have happened, and Wyoming must strengthen its legal framework to prevent animal cruelty,” Arrivo said in a written statement.
Roberts pleaded guilty to the charge in February in exchange for a lighter sentence.
Related:
Wyoming man reaches plea deal to avoid jail time in wolf-abuse case
Wyoming case proceeds as judge rules wolf’s treatment not covered by predator exemption
