A Wyoming hunter who allegedly captured a wolf, taped its mouth shut and brought the animal to a bar before killing it has been fined $250 for importation and possession of a live wild animal.

Many are bound to question whether that’s a suitable punishment.

The unidentified individual is accused by some of using a snowmobile to chase the wolf into submission while legally hunting wolves on Feb. 29 in Sublette County.

The Wyoming Game and Fish Department on Thursday issued a news release acknowledging that an individual was cited for possession of “live, warm-blooded wildlife.”

The agency did not identify the individual, however, or address accusations circulating via social media, other than to state that “animal cruelty charges are not applicable to predatory animals.”

The Cowboy State Daily reported Tuesday that while it’s legal to kill wolves in parts of Sublette County, the case “could spark enough outrage to shake Wyoming’s wolf management policy.”

(Wolves in Wyoming were removed from the endangered species list in 2017, leaving it up to the state to determine hunting regulations.)

Also this week, Wyoming Game and Fish Department spokeswoman Breanna Ball sent the following statement to the Cowboy State Daily:

“An anonymous reporting party notified the Wyoming Game and Fish Department that an individual was alleged to be in possession of a live wolf. The reporting party notified the Department on March 1, 2024. According to the investigation, the individual possessed the live wolf on 2/29/24.

“The individual was hunting when he came across the wolf in the predator zone and intended to harvest it. However, the wolf was transported alive back to his residence and later to a business in Daniel, WY. The individual euthanized the wolf later that day.

“The individual was cited for violating Chapter 10, Importation and Possession of Live Warm-Blooded Wildlife.”

That carried a $250 misdemeanor fine.

Much of Wyoming is considered a “predator zone,” where hunting for wolves is legal with no tags required, as long as kills are reported.

Portions of the state within Yellowstone National Park and Grand Teton National Park remain off-limits to hunting.

–Generic gray wolf image courtesy of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service