A CRUEL hunter allegedly paraded a tortured wolf around a bar before he took it outside and killed it with his gun.
The terrified creature appears in a sickening image cowering with sunken eyes and its mouth taped tightly shut.
A hunter allegedly tortured and then paraded a wolf around a bar before he killed it
A family member appeared to make a Facebook post re-enacting the scene
Cody Roberts, 42, was fined $250 for being in possession of the live wolf but it was not illegal to kill it, sparking outrage from animal rights activists.
Roberts posed with the traumatised animal, flashing a toothy grin while hooking his arm around its neck and raising a can of beer.
The wolf was already injured before Roberts ran it over with a snowmobile.
He reportedly dragged it through the Green River Bar as regulars swilled beer before taking it behind the bar, torturing it and killing it.
Jeanne Ivie-Roberts, a family member of Roberts, re-enacted the disturbing scene with a wolf skin in the same bar.
She posted photos to Facebook of herself with her mouth taped shut, just like the wolf, while holding the skin in front of her.
Ivie-Roberts wrote in another post after Roberts’ picture went viral: “I love and support you Cody”.
She also celebrated the news that animal cruelty laws didn’t apply to Roberts’ case, and another family member claimed they were getting death threats.
Animals rights activists were up in arms and became even more furious when it was confirmed Roberts would only face a small fine.
The Animal Wellness Action and the Center for a Humane Economy wrote a letter to officials.
It stated that Roberts actions clearly warrant a punishment more severe than the $250 ticket he received for possession of live wildlife the Animal Wellness Action and the Center for a Humane Economy wrote in a letter to officials.
It added: “Such an anemic response on the part of law enforcement will be seen by some as tacit approval of his crime and can only motivate other like-minded individuals driven by hatred of wolves to engage in similar, repugnant behaviour.”
A remorseless, cruel monster like this is a threat to other animals, and a threat to people. The law must speak
Wayne Pacelle
And Ivie-Roberts post garnered dozens of comments from users, most of whom supported the hunter.
One said he “has a good heart” and another wrote: “I’m with him!!! I’ll bring the duct tape.”
But some were appalled, with one writing: “Cruelty should never be condoned! No reason for that BS behaviour.”
Wayne Pacelle, president of Animal Wellness Action branded Roberts a “monster” and said he should not escape prosecution.
He said: “The man who committed this atrocious act of animal cruelty cannot go without punishment under state or federal law, or both,” wrote Pacelle, who worked to make animal cruelty a felony in dozens of states and to make animal cruelty a federal crime.
“Running over and crushing an animal with a snowmobile, binding the battered and wounded animal’s mouth shut, and deciding to further torment the creature in front of an audience rather than putting him out of his misery is the textbook definition of malicious cruelty.”
He continued: “A remorseless, cruel monster like this is a threat to other animals, and a threat to people. The law must speak.”
Roberts, who is a dad and owns a trucking company, first encountered the wolf when he ran it down with a snowmobile and disabled it.
But, instead of putting the animal out of its misery he allegedly prolonged its suffering by taking it to the bar.
It is legal to kill wolves in the part of Sublette County, but by keeping the animal alive and tormenting it as Roberts did, he was violating hunting ethics.
The Wyoming Game and Fish Department confirmed that a man had been cited and fined for the misconduct, but did not name them.
But Sublette County Circuit Court records showed Roberts was cited for a wildlife violation from an incident on February 29.
According to public records, Roberts has a hunting and fishing license.
It comes as a vile dog-fighting ring where animals are forced to ‘train’ on treadmills before mauling each other to death can be revealed.
Phillip Ali – known as “Doctor Death” – gave animals steroids in a bid to win sick bouts in a couple’s garage at their suburban home in Essex.
The 68-year-old was found guilty of multiple cruelty charges, alongside homeowners Billy, 38, and Amy Leadley, 39 – and accomplice Stephen Brown, 56.
Thousands of pounds could be won in the deadly fights organised by Ali, with his dogs trained to rip each other apart, a court heard.
After the images of Cody Roberts went viral Ivie-Roberts supported him, writing ‘I love and support you Cody’