From Daniel to D.C. – Working to End Cruelty to Wildlife

HOGS FOR HOPE ROLLS INTO DANIEL AND CONCLUDES IN GATHERING IN JACKSON

America’s Outlaw Dog Trainer Jonas Black Joins Concerned Citizens

Fundraiser and rally Hogs for Hope rolled into Daniel, Wyoming on Sunday, May 26. The event was peaceful and was a gathering of many people passionate about wildlife. Even though there were vehicles lined up in front of the Green River Bar and throughout town, we still brought the message that we wanted to see lasting change in the laws in Wyoming to protect wildlife from torture and torment. We welcomed Jonas to Daniel and held an informal ceremony just outside the town limits. As we drove through town, we were greeted by supporters as well as people in opposition to our presence. Advocates vastly outnumbered the opponents and all-in-all it was a successful event that kickstarted our efforts for legislative change.

Earlier in the day before we drove through town, a coyote was found on the outskirts of town with its mouth taped shut. We are uncertain of where the coyote originated from or why it was there. If it was indeed a stunt pulled by those who would wish to dissuade us from pursing changes to the law, we can assure those individuals that cruelty to animals will be fought against and the laws will be changed to protect those most vulnerable among us.

We had a wonderful post-rally get together at Sidewinders in Wilson where people who were in Daniel and those who couldn’t attend the rally in Daniel met up with us and Jonas. We are so thankful to Jonas and his brother Austin for their dedication to wildlife and their generosity. Jonas raised $134,000 for both WWA and Wolves of the Rockies, the two organizations leading the charge for a better life for wildlife in Wyoming.

A HUGE THANK YOU TO WYOMING LAW ENFORCEMENT

We would like to thank the Wyoming Highway Patrol and the Sublette County Sheriff’s Office – including Sheriff Lehr – for being present to escort Jonas and our caravan through Daniel. They ensured that everyone present was safe. Sergeant Travis Bingham from the Sublette County Sheriff’s Office said, “We were there to keep the peace and to keep traffic moving.”

According to an article in Buckrail, there continues to be death threats issued to Daniel residents and others living in Sublette County. We denounce any threats of violence or any other harsh words being directed at anyone in Sublette County. Please let the Sheriff’s Office continue to conduct their investigation and serve the people of Sublette County.

WASHINGTON D.C. PUSH BRINGS ADVOCACY FOR NATION’S WILDLIFE

While Wyoming works to change the laws regarding treatment of predators, we are taking what happened in Daniel, Wyoming in February to the nation’s lawmakers because torture to wildlife is also legal in many other U.S. states. Because of that, we want to use this horrific incident to bring about change for all wildlife across the nation. An animal shouldn’t be treated differently in our society because they live in an arbitrarily drawn boundary created by humans. Every single individual animal, regardless of where it resides, should not have to be tortured or tormented.

We traveled to Washington D.C for a rally for wolves and wildlife that involved participants from across the country that was hosted by the Wild Beauty Foundation and filmmaker Ashley Avis. Our main reason for going to D.C. was to meet with lawmakers to tell them about the events of what happened in Wyoming and how wildlife are suffering in other states too. Killing animals with vehicles is neither fair chase nor humane. Running wildlife down until they are exhausted in the deep snow is not the proper method of livestock protection from predators and is torture in itself.

We are asking lawmakers to consider a bill that would be similar to the Animal Welfare Act that would govern the bare minimum treatment of all wildlife. We asked for the following from members of Congress:

1. Sponsor or support legislation that would prohibit the vehicular pursuit and prolonged death of wildlife on federal lands.
2. Sponsor or support legislation prohibiting wanton waste of wildlife on federal lands.
3. Write a letter and garner support from other members of Congress to the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management to use their authority to prohibit vehicular killing.
4. Sponsor or support legislation to prohibit the torture, torment, prolonged suffering, and cruelty to all wildlife, including those classified as predators or carnivores.

All members of Congress or their staff were receptive to our proposal. We have draft language for a bill and will be working alongside legislators to move things forward. We met with the offices of Wyoming Senators Jim Barrasso, and Cynthia Lummis, and Representative Hageman along with numerous other nationwide Congress members. Wyoming could absolutely step into this effort and lead the nation in making a more humane and compassionate space for all wildlife.

READ THIS RECAP OF LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS HERE IN WYOFILE

TREATMENT OF PREDATORS WORKING GROUP MEETS

The treatment of predators working group formed by the Travel, Recreation, Wildlife and Cultural Resources Committee met on June 25 in Lander, Wyoming. They discussed predator control and potential changes to Wyoming’s laws. We were pleased to see the group take on the topic of predator control and suggest the writing of two bills that they will take back to the Travel, Recreation, Wildlife, and Cultural Resources Committee for consideration. A great start and big step in the right direction for Wyoming.

We are disappointed to see that they are not recommending a bill to prohibit vehicular killing of wildlife. In fact, one Committee member mentioned that it might be more humane to run over an animal rather than shoot it because your shot might not kill the animal right away. This kind of thinking is not conducive to the kind of change we need in Wyoming. Governor Gordon is quoted as saying, “I don’t think there’s any reason why people need to run over animals.” We couldn’t agree more.

The next step is that they will present their discussion and findings at the TRW Committee on July 9 at 2:30pm. Read below for more info.

READ THEIR MEMO HERE.

WATCH THE RECORDING HERE.

SEE ALL DOCUMENTS FROM MEETING HERE.

WYOMING LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE MEETS

JULY 9 & 10

The Travel, Recreation, Wildlife, and Cultural Resources legislative committee will meet tomorrow, June 9 and Wednesday, June 10 in Casper. They are planning on discussing the Treatment of Predators working group actions at 2:30pm Mountain Time on Tuesday, June 9. Public comment will be accepted. Since there is only a half hour for the entire presentation and public comment, we are requesting WRITTEN COMMENTS from the public to be submitted. Please email the entire working group members and the Travel, Recreation, Wildlife, and Cultural Resources committee members. Be polite in your comments and stay on the topic. There are two changes we are calling for:

1. Include predators in the animal cruelty statutes.
2. Prohibit vehicular killing by snowmobile or other motorized vehicles.

We are dismayed in learning about the fact that Cody Roberts could have been forced to go in front of a judge and could have faced a $1,000 fine and up to 6 months in jail. Discretion is left up to the investigating warden. In this case, the warden chose not to make Cody appear before a judge and gave him the bare minimum penalty. Was justice properly served?

Send emails to the following individuals:

TRW Co-chair Wendy Schuler: Wendy.Schuler@wyoleg.gov

TRW Co-chair Sandy Newsome: Sandy.Newsome@wyoleg.gov

TRW Member Fred Baldwin: Fred.Baldwin@wyoleg.gov

TRW Member Affie Ellis: Affie.Ellis@wyoleg.gov

TRW Member Mike Gierau: Mike.Gierau@wyoleg.gov

TRW Member Stacy Jones: Stacy.Jones@wyoleg.gov

TRW Member Abby Angelos: Abby.Angelos@wyoleg.gov

TRW Member Donald Burkhart, Jr.: Donald.Burkhart@wyoleg.gov

TRW Member Andrew Byron: Andrew.Byron@wyoleg.gov

TRW Member J.T. Larson: JT.Larson@wyoleg.gov

TRW Member Liz Storer: Liz.Storer@wyoleg.gov

TRW Member Cyrus Western: Cyrus.Western@wyoleg.gov

TRW Member John Winter: John.Winter@wyoleg.gov

Legislative Committee Members of the Treatment of Predators Working Group

Senators: Fred Baldwin, Mike Gierau

Representatives: Sandy Newsome, Liz Storer, John Winter

Wyoming Game and Fish Director Brian Nesvik: brian.nesvik@wyo.gov

Wyoming Dept. of Agriculture Director Doug Miyamoto: doug.miyamoto@wyo.gov

WY Wildlife Federation Gov’t Affairs Director Jess Johnson: jessijohnson@wyomingwildlife.org

Wyoming Stock Grower’s Association Vice President Jim Magagna via the Wyoming Department of Agriculture: wda1@wyo.gov (that is a number 1 after the WDA)

WYO GIVES IS THIS WEDNESDAY, JULY 10!

This Wednesday is WyoGives! One day of giving to celebrate non-profit organizations statewide. If you would like to support WWA and all of our life saving work, please visit www.wyogives.org on Wednesday. It’s 24 hours from 12:00am to 11:59pm MST.

Help us celebrate our 10 year anniversary by contributing to our goal of $10,000!