Wyoming’s state tourism agency has suspended social media posts and paid ads relating to wildlife amid the worldwide furor over the wolf abuse and killing in Daniel.
The Wyoming Office of Tourism, also known as Travel Wyoming, alerted unknown recipients to the social media suspension in a letter obtained by WyoFile.
“I know you are all well aware of the public criticism over the wolf abuse by a resident,” read the email, which came from the office’s Senior Communication Manager Piper Singer Cunningham. “Over the past week, Travel Wyoming and many other state agencies are at the forefront of a social boycott. As a result, we have paused all paid and organic social media until further notice, along with ads related to wildlife experiences.”
Travel Wyoming’s Executive Director Diane Shober offered little detail when pressed. In a statement to WyoFile, she stressed that the incident — when Daniel resident Cody Roberts ran down a young wolf on a snowmobile, muzzled the wounded animal and then showed it off at the bar before killing it — “is not reflective of the values of the State of Wyoming.”
“As the travel and tourism industry, wildlife is a primary reason why people come to Wyoming, and its protection and preservation are of utmost importance to us,” Shober said. “We encourage all visitors to respect and cherish Wyoming’s wildlife and natural resources.”
Though it routinely posted several times a day before the incident, Travel Wyoming hasn’t posted to X, formerly known as Twitter, and Instagram since April 10, and to Facebook since April 11. Shober’s office will continue monitoring the situation to determine when best to resume marketing and content.
Backlash
Much of the rage aimed at Wyoming stems from the scale of the penalty Roberts received — $250 for violating laws prohibiting the possession of live wildlife. Roberts allegedly encountered the wolf in the “predator zone,” where there are few rules on how and when wolves can be killed. Photographs and video later came out showing him parading the muzzled animal in the bar.
Wyoming wildlife officials contend that animal cruelty statutes don’t apply to predatory species and the state has no further legal avenue to punish Roberts. That has created a public relations nightmare as outraged calls and letters pour in, including threats. Some individuals even drove thousands of miles early this week just to sound off before Wyoming’s Game and Fish Commission. (In the wake of that outrage, the Sublette County Sheriff’s Office announced it had launched its own investigation into Roberts’ actions. That work is not yet complete.)
Travel Wyoming has experienced the blowback as well. Its latest Instagram post offers evidence. The April 10 post shows horseback riders crossing a river with the caption “Who are you bringing along for your horseback adventure?”
It had received 219 comments as of Friday. The first five include:
“Wyoming : Where liberty means being evil and cruel to our wildlife.”
“We were planning on getting married in Wyoming. We are joining the rest of the nation in boycotting travel to your state.”
“Sad to say I’ve seen what Daniel, Wyoming is in the news for. My favorite summer road trips have been driving through Wyoming. As your neighbor in Oregon, my dollars are better spent elsewhere.”
“#boycottwyoming”
“Won’t be bringing anything. I’ll be staying well away from the state that endorses animal cruelty.”
Tarnished reputation?
Some 200 outdoor recreation industry professionals gathered Thursday and Friday in Casper for the Wyoming Outdoor Recreation Summit. Gear manufacturers, Forest Service employees, retail business owners and guides spent two days discussing issues like housing crunches, manufacturing opportunities and the economic might of outdoor visits.
Near the end of the second day, Office of Outdoor Recreation Manager Patrick Harrington said he hadn’t detected a discernable impact of the incident on tourism in Wyoming. If anything, he said, he’s witnessed the people of Wyoming come together to wholesale reject what happened and reinforce their respect for wildlife.
“My hope is that people will see that perspective, and not judge the whole state based on the actions of one person,” Harrington said.
Tips for complaints
“Do not engage with comments or posts related to the wolf,” Travel Wyoming’s letter recommended. It also urged its recipients to refrain from sharing personal opinions on the matter, keep up to date on recent developments surrounding the incident and remain calm.
“We will not be issuing any public statements or engaging with any social comments,” it continued.
I am a travel agent, have agencies all over the country. I am telling everyone about what entertainment is like in Wyoming. Go to a bar for a drink and dinner then you get to see idiots torture an animal. No thanks!! Wont be sending anyone there!
Since the state has no morals or values and views animal torture as entertainment they will receive no money from me forever. If you would do this to an innocent animal what would you do to people who are not able to defend themselves? DISGUSTING!
When I first heard of the torture of this majestic wolf, I cried for days. He will not go unpunished. These are creatures created by Our Lord with a purpose.
Statements like ‘does not represent our values’ are the more expedient way of saying ‘no comment.’ Officialdom cannot represent values as appointees, politicians, and people who want desperately to hang onto their government jobs are just going to offer ‘thoughts and prayers’ and ‘does not represent our values.’
It is up to people to represent their values and to demand change. And to throw out of power those whose ‘values’ are their contributors, cronies, and self-aggrandizement. Don’t boycott, it hurts the people who don’t have money and lawyers and gives the politicians something to whine about. Walk the walk while they talk the talk – vote.
Silence is complicity.
Because of this outrage, not only I’m boycotting the state,
I’m also no longer recognizing Wyoming as the 44th state!
I refuse to do business with a state that’s still
dwelling in the barbaric 19th Century!
I’m appalled. It’s incomprehensible that behavior like that would fall in the grey zone of “unenforceable!”
Agreed! 💪💪💪
Agree 100%. All those who are minimizing this heinous act, as well as those soulless cowards who were at the bar and witnessed the poor animal’s suffering and did nothing, there is a hell waiting for you. You are not human beings like the rest of us, you are also accomplices.
So, I guess the PETA convention is not going to be in Jackson Hole this year.
People are murdered every day, sometimes in multiple victim events but it doesn’t generate the same outrage as this wolf incident.
Dunno about you Mike, But I care more about most animals than I do about most people …
Preaching to the choir! 👍👍👍
Not true, I can be outraged about the murder of people AND at the same time, be outraged about this violent and malevolent behavior toward an animal that was doing no harm to anyone.
Yeah there’s a reason for that because humans are supposed to be more intelligent it’s our world we own it so these animals have to live in it at our rules and when one of us acts less than even an animal would act a clear psychopath then it draws a lot of attention that person needs to be taken out of society you really think that this is the only time and the only living creature this sub-human trash is hurt he just got caught this time because he was arrogant enough to film his own crime imagine how many times he hasn’t filmed it imagine what his kids grow up living through his neighbors have told stories of him sodomizing his dogs for god sakes he needs to be taken out and have the same thing done to him that he has done to that wolf that’s why it brings more outrage
The beauty of Wyoming isn’t its people, it’s the wildlife, the scenery and its wild horses. All those things are what brings us to the state. I personally won’t be going to a state where the ugliness and cruelty are celebrated and the beautiful animals are run down, trapped, rounded up and shot by residents. Those people who joke about “smoke a pack a day”. In Wyoming “shoot, shovel, shut up “ isn’t even a thing. No need to hide it, just bring it to the bar and everyone will help you terrorize it. Disgusting and despicable behavior that is sanctioned by the lack of laws against it. I wouldn’t want to be anywhere near people who are like that.
Will avoid Wyoming on my way from Colorado to Washington. Can’t fathom such cruelty with so little consequence. Please enact some legislation to protect these beautiful animals.
It sickens me to see these people to this to animals! This just brings all the animal abusers out to do a sicker story!
Diane Shober is the latest Wyoming official to assert that Cody Roberts does not represent Wyoming values. Such statements are easy, they’re tiresome, and by themselves they’re worth almost nothing. Sure, many of us Wyomingites, Diane Shober included, personally hold different views than do people like this Cody Roberts. But, so what? Running down wolves and coyotes and other predators with your snowmachine, and doing whatever else you damn well please to them as long as you don’t take them to the bar alive, is legal in Wyoming. What clearer expression of Wyoming values could there be? Until we Wyomingites who believe as Diane Shober does act on our belief to get the law changed, it really doesn’t matter what we believe.
Actually, the poor wolf was alive (although dying) during the hours it was tortured in the bar. I have visited Wyoming before, but now neither I not my relatives and friends will ever go there. Too many other beautiful places to see where people are not ugly and psychopathic, especially those at the bar laughing and having a good time while an animal suffered and died. We will not forget.
The lady at the bar the Guys aunt that did this torture and killing says. Out of town ppl and city folk don’t know how much damage the Wolves do and the killing of our livestock .Like Wyoming is the only place with wolves. We have them in northern Michigan and they are considered endangered even though we have over 1500. They kill a lot of the White Tail deer especially fawns they kill livestock and so on. Here’s the difference in a Sick individual like the man that Tortured and killed this wolf. We don chase the animal down and when it can’t run anymore run it over and tape its mouth shut then take it to a bar put a shock collar on it and Torture it that’s as bad as it gets anyone that has that in them is capable of anything . That’s a sick individual and the ppl at that bar are just as bad. The fact this man and the ppl are not in jail is inconceivable. What this person did is as bad as it gets . I have been a hunter and a conservationists my whole life . When I saw that wild laying in the bar with its mouth taped shut and a shock collar on its neck made me cry. How any person can do this blows everything I have ever believed in humanity.
This is not an isolated incident .. the ESA protections were removed by the trump administration 2020, and said the laws should be administered by the states ( oops sound familiar Arizona and Alabama) wolves can be killed by any means in the Rocky Mountain states of Wyoming, Montana and Idaho
The “ whacking “ of predators is in full storm trooper form. This guy just posted his egregious cruelty and stupidity for the whole world to see .. his bad
This all goes on if you talk to those who live in these states, but most keep their psycho bloodlust to friends and family
#boycottrockymountainstates is the real demographic of stopping tourist $$ from coming in. It’s not just Wyoming folks.Current Sec of Interior Deb Haaland has refused to reinstate the protections for the wolves in these 3 states even though environmental groups and tribal orgs have sued repeatedly. She can stop this on a dime, if she wants but she has ignored the suffering of this bludgeoned being
The Dept of Interior refuses to discuss the issue and this is causing a culture that has condoned this behavior
It continues to proliferate this hatred towards wolves by her stubborn inaction
Why will this administration not protect the wolves? Why give this to the states to decide ? Wildlife is in trust for the public this is not a states issue it’s a federal one !
Reminds me of that female health care issue so hotly debated right now
This need to be understood by the public. We are driving these ecosystem engineers to extreme suffering and extinction. I am asking why is this not on the national agenda now? This incident may put it there especially with summer just around the bend, but until then we can write/ comment /call and talk with our friends and sign petitions but don’t let your $$$ go to where it’s happening right now
#boycottrockymountainstates !!
So it’s Trump’s fault! I knew it!!
Of Wolves and Man: As is the case with all living beings, both Cody Roberts and that wolf he killed came into this world born of innocence. But their paths into adulthood make a profound departure—one driven by natural and time-honored influences, the other more by the hubris and power of a self-serving subculture. How that innocence was laid to waste is both unknown and unimportant. But the civil and moral consequences are.
I soooo LOVE Yellowstone — the most gorgeous place in the US. But I share the sentiment of people posting about spending most of my travel money in WY — hotels, food, and many gifts for my family. WY was lame in their response to this abuse and while I don’t believe this represents most WY people, I am still very bothered by this cruelty.
Um, Yellowstone is a National Park, not part of Wyoming. You can enter the Park via Montana . Or Idaho. The town where the wolf was tortured is miles and miles from all that ,and Jackson , the town cloest to the Park, is the most reliably liberal place in the state– mo wolf tortures there. Stop posturing .
we will see this guys name in the news again in the near future, that level of cruelty doesn’t just stop. In a location such as Daniel where he is likely getting pats on the back for his actions.
My favorite place in the whole world is Yellowstone National Park and as a result of the actions of Cody Roberts and Wyoming’s irresponsible absence of adequate legislation to prevent and prosecute animal cruelty I will never spend another penny in Wyoming again.
The whole wolf hunting culture was bound to result in this. And how many thousands more have gone unreported? Wolves are NOT game animals. They are apex predators who were already made extinct before by this same anti predator mentality. Are you trying to do it again? A $250 fine for this individual is a joke. He should be jailed.
Wyoming now knows they are not the “gold standard” for wildlife management. This story needs to keep going until Wyoming changes their laws and respects all wildlife, not just the ones that bring in hunting tags. They have always had one of the worst wildlife records. If they were kind to wildlife, they would have lots of tourists come to look at them. Wyoming has Grant Tetons and Yellowstone, which are both amazing. Step out of the park if you’re a wolf and you are shot, trapped, snared, tortured. Now everyone knows.
I’ll be bypassing the state until it shows some respect for the natural world. Sickening.
It’s obvious to the nation that the wolf policies of Wyoming, Idaho and Montana are designed to ensure total eradication of wolf populations. The only answer is relisting wolves as a federally protected species. To prevent our wilderness from becoming a game park/feedlot ,boycott $ til changes are made.
As a Wyoming citizen, I am very glad that the abdominal practice of running exhausted wolves down with snowmobiles has come to international attention. These same people also run down coyotes. Then they claim to be civilized!! I would love to see Wyoming become more compassionate towards one of our greatest resources. Hopefully, this horrible but common practice will end!!
It’s pitiful that one person can shame an entire state, but Cody Roberts has done it. I am certainly no wolf lover, but no animal should ever be abused and/or tortured.
Much has been said about our wild horses, yet many are still injured and/or killed during their capture.
To quote state tourism director Diane Shober: ” when Daniel resident Cody Roberts ran down a young wolf on a snowmobile, muzzled the wounded animal and then showed it off at the bar before killing it — “is not reflective of the values of the State of Wyoming.” ( endquote)
Sorry to have to say it, but she’s wrong. It is highly reflective of the overall attitude Wyoming shows towards Gray Wolves , along with free range coyotes and non-National Park grizzly bears. A lifetime of observing Wyomingites going about their favorite populist pastimes of gun play , piston-powered funpiggery , the blood sports , and other colloquial contests in the redneck games provides a comprehensive database. The profuse evidence shows every ethical hunter, genuine sportsman , conscientious outdoorsman , and true wildlife conservationist tis outnumbered by deplorable denizens. Wyoming Wahoos. In my hometown of Cody it’s a heresy to say as much , but for a point of discussion I will add roughstock Rodeo to that list. We put a guy bucking down a rank horse on our license plates and every other piece of state-sanctioned messaging.
This Sublette County wolf abuse debacle is a distillation in the bottle of what the rest of the world all too often sees and hears about Wyoming. News from the Cowboy State is heavily skewed towards the negative, regrettably. That’s on us. Suspending publication of wildlife related travel promotion is the band-aid approach. When will we collectively start applying peer pressure to behave better and clean up our anachronistic 19th century character ?
The whole ” Wyoming is what America was” thing is growing old and breaking down a lot. We really must quite living down to the pulp novel narrative that Wyoming is 600,00 against the World.
Cody Roberts may wind up doing more to protect the species he and others in Wyoming so vehemently hate more than he could ever imagine. This animal was never any threat to him, yet simply for the thrill of torture and power, this magnificent animal has become a WORLDWIDE symbol for change.
Oliver Starr’s post made me weep. “Cody Roberts tortured a baby – for fun.” Did NOT ONE PERSON in that bar raise a finger to stop the torture and killing of a helpless animal by a barbaric thug? Cowardice and evil all around.
Travel Wyoming’s Executive Director Diane Shober offered little detail when pressed. In a statement to WyoFile, she stressed that the incident — when Daniel resident Cody Roberts ran down a young wolf on a snowmobile, muzzled the wounded animal and then showed it off at the bar before killing it — “is not reflective of the values of the State of Wyoming.”
Huh? This has been going on with wolves since 2011, and with coyotes well before that. If it’s not reflective of the “values of the State of Wyoming”, what is it? Make this type of activity illegal. Get rid of the predator zone. If Wyoming hadn’t drawn such a draconian policy toward wolves over a decade ago, you wouldn’t have received this National black eye.
If you are going to address the evil cowards of Wyoming, you need to use 2 syllable words.
Beautiful Wyoming, home to Teton National, and parts of Yellowstone National Parks. Wildlife is protected in these Parks. In most states a senseless cruel act of torturing any animal is considered a felony. Where are the leaders of Wyoming on this policy beginning with the town sheriff, state representatives, and the governor? The despicable and cowardly behavior of Cody Roberts requires more than a slap on the wrist.
Bunch of cowards. I’ve visited Wyoming twice, and it’s always been one of my favorite states (been to all 50, and 44 at least twice). However, I won’t be going back less some serious changes to the state legislature are adopted. What Wyoming officials fail to realize is that Cody Roberts’ behavior actually IS indicative of the state’s values. By not having even basic animal cruelty protections for all wild animals, Wyoming endorses the kinds of sick and depraved behavior that’s cons to light recently. “Coyote mashing” is depraved beyond any reasonable doubt. In the more civilized states back east, Cody Roberts would be held accountable with a prison sentence, a lifelong loss of hunting rights, and a confiscation of all legally registered firearms. All of us tourists can make Wyoming pay…by taking our business elsewhere. I also won’t be going back to Montana or Idaho, in light of the fact that they have a similarly barbaric lack of protections for animals. Vermont is beautiful. So are the Adirondacks of New York, the Berkshires of Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maine…bring your adventures to these states instead. They protect their wildlife. Also, aside from the northwest corner (most of which is federal property), Wyoming is one of the most barren and destitute states. It’s a large trailer park. Now the entire world knows it. It’s just a shame that poor wolf had to die for the rest of the world to finally understand his depraved and provincial the people of Wyoming are.
My name is Oliver Starr. I’m the Executive Director of the Tahoe Wolf Center and the grandson of one of the largest beef producers in Colorado history. We have deep ties across the West, including Wyoming.
The wolf Cody Roberts ran down with a snowmobile, tortured, and then shot was a yearling. (About the same age as the wolf pictured behind me)
At this age, a juvenile wolf is too young to reproduce and hasn’t yet learned to hunt on her own or reached full size. Cody Roberts tortured a baby – for fun.
The horror Cody visited on that being is vile beyond comprehension. It defies description. His actions demand punishment.
Unfortunately, this isn’t the first time someone has tortured a wolf in Wyoming. It’s just the first time that torture went public.
Make no mistake; the liberal predator slaughter policies supported by this commission allowed this monstrous act. They must be reformed.
Yesterday, you, Wyoming’s Wildlife Commission, released a statement decrying Cody’s actions. You also said that Wyoming’s “wildlife management practices are the gold standard.” Such a statement is offensive. In what conceivable world is running animals to exhaustion and then crushing them with snowmobiles representative of the gold standard of anything except cruelty?
To wildlife professionals like me, someone who has worked with wolves for nearly 40 years, what he did – enabled by Wyoming’s despicable predator policies, is exhibit one as to why states like yours are patently unqualified to “manage” wildlife.
And now, with the eyes of the world upon you, lawsuits being filed as we speak, and national media paying attention, you’re about to learn what happens when a million people some of you call “snowflakes” become a blizzard. Be warned; our snowmobiles are chasing you now.
That was absolutely eloquent. Also makes the whole scenario even worse if that could even be possible.
Cody Roberts tortured a helpless baby.
And there are people who know this and are still defending his actions.
Beautifully stated! The nation couldn’t agree more!
So very well written. Thank you and bless you.
What a backwards, Hicksville state. Grow up and grow a conscience. SHAME on wyoming for decades of animal cruelty.
I’ve seen videos of young boys on snowmobiles running down wolves for fun in Wyoming. The torturing of these animals is as cruel as it gets. My vacation money will never be spent in Wyoming, Montana or Idaho the 3 blood states.
Why go dark? Boldly broadcast that Cody Roberts and his bar fly family are not indicative of the rest of us in Wyoming and nobody here condones what that buffoon did. Suspending all social media broadcasts looks cowardly and quite frankly, a little guilty
I agree. It appears to be an isolated (or rare) incident and not in any way a matter of common practice or official policy.