Disturbing new footage shows a captured wolf being tortured by a small-town hunter in a local bar after he ran it down with a snowmobile.
The videos – provided to Cowboy State Daily – show the animal that 42-year-old Cody Roberts paraded around a pub in rural Wyoming. After showing it around with its nose taped shut, Roberts shot the animal dead.
He was investigated but cleared of charges and was fined $250 – sparking fury among animal rights activists.
The concerning clips, of which there are two, were provided Wednesday evening by the Wyoming Game and Fish Department – the agency that handed down the fine.
n both of them, an exhausted and pitiful-looking wolf can be seen languishing on the floor in a location not disclosed by the agency.
In the first, the animal has a muzzle on its face, and looks to be tired and despondent.
In the second, the wolf’s face isn’t completely visible, but it can be seen slowly moving its eyes and one of its hind legs.
The wolf in both clips bears a stark resemblance to the animal in a photograph that spawned the outrage – in which, instead of a muzzle, a piece of duct tape is forcing the wolf’s mouth shut.
A jovial Roberts is seen posing next to it, gleefully raising a can of beer while gripping the wolf – only a yearling – by the scruff of the neck.
The photo with the animal was taken hours before its death, hence much of the outrage.
He then took the wolf away behind the bar and tortured it before shooting it dead.
That happened hours after he first encountered the wolf, running it over with a snowmobile. The wolf was reportedly injured when he came across it.
He then hauled it over to the Green River Bar, where the photo was taken.
Flooring seen in the photograph coincides with the hardwood seen in the new videos, which appears to provide valuable new insight into the wolf’s final moments.
Photos of Roberts harming the animal, meanwhile, continue to circulate, leading many to call for a more pronounced punishment.
Roberts’ relative Jeanne Ivie-Roberts has been one of the few to express support, taking to social media to do so.
In a public post penned Friday, commenters rallied behind her questionable cause.
‘Absolutely support you Cody Roberts,’ wrote one such onlooker, responding to a remark from Ivie-Roberts that expressed her ‘love and support.’
‘Hope everything is OK. I’ll say prayers…’ added another, as others posted Bitmojis sending ‘hugs’.
