For the second time in as many years, a bipartisan coalition introduced a bill in the U.S. House to ban using snowmobiles to run over wolves and other predators on federal lands. The act was inspired by the alleged wolf torture in Wyoming in 2024.

Mark Heinz

House Bill Targets Wolf ‘Whacking’ With Snowmobiles On Federal Land | Cowboy State Daily

December 18, 20253 min read

For the second time in as many years, a bipartisan coalition introduced a bill in the U.S. House to ban using snowmobiles to run over wolves and other predators on federal lands in all 50 states.

The “Snowmobiles Aren’t Weapons Act” (SAW), introduced Thursday, was inspired by a February 2024 incident near Daniel, Wyoming. Local resident Cody Roberts allegedly ran down a wolf with a snowmobile, captured and abused it before killing it behind the Green River Bar in Daniel.

Roberts’ attorney this week asked a judge to drop the felony cruelty to animals charge filed against Roberts, based upon those allegations.

“I think the Cody Roberts incident is still in the forefront of the minds of so many people,” Wayne Pacelle, president of Animal Wellness Action and the Center for a Humane Economy, told Cowboy State Daily.

Pacelle pushed for the SAW act, both this year, and in its first iteration in 2024, which failed.

Second Time Around

Rep. Val Hoyle, D-Ore., is the lead author to the 2025 version, cosponsored by Reps. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., Debbie Dingell, D-Mich., and Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa.

Hoyle sits on the House Committee on Natural Resources, as does Republican Wyoming Congresswoman Harriet Hageman.

Hageman also chairs the Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife and Fisheries.

Hageman vocally opposed the 2024 version of the SAW Act. A request for comment from her office regarding the new version wasn’t answered by publication time.  

Bans At The State Level

The Daniel wolf incident put a national and international spotlight on the practice of running down predators with snowmobiles, commonly called “whacking.”

The SAW Act would ban the practice on federal lands in all 50 states. It would not apply to state-controlled lands or private property.

State statutes banning whacking are also on the books in Oregon, Colorado and Minnesota, Pacelle said.

Whacking hasn’t been banned in Wyoming.

“Oregon was wolves, and she (Hoyle) has wolves in her district,” Pacelle said.

“Minnesota has more wolves than any other state in the country,” he added.

In Wyoming, Rep. Mike Schmid, R-La Barge, introduced a bill to ban whacking during the 2025 legislative session; it failed.

Schmid recently told Cowboy State Daily that he plans on trying again during the upcoming 2026 legislative session.

Broad Support

Pacelle said he’s hopeful that the new version of the SAW Act will succeed, because whacking is broadly opposed across party and ideological lines.

“This is something that every dyed-in-the-wool hunter and every orthodox animal welfare activist can agree on,” he said.

“Using snowmobiles is not a traditional form of killing wildlife, nor does it have anything to do with a Western way of life,” he added.

The introduction of the new SAW Act came as the House on Thursday took up H.R. 845, which calls to remove federal endangered species protection for wolves across the Lower 48. That bill is sponsored by Reps. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., and Tom Tiffany, R-Wisc.

Wolf advocates worry that could open the door for more states to allow whacking.

Endangered species protection for wolves was previously removed in Wyoming, Montana and Idaho, and all three states allow wolf hunting and trapping.  

David Charns

Mon, March 9, 2026 at 10:05 AM PDT

2 min read

Canadian tourist must remain in Las Vegas for alleged flamingo abuse

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LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — A Canadian tourist accused of stealing and torturing a flamingo at a Las Vegas Strip hotel must remain in the area as his criminal proceedings play out, a judge said Monday.

Mitchell Fairbarn, 33, of Ontario, Canada, faces four counts of felony animal abuse for allegedly injuring a bird at the Flamingo Las Vegas Hotel & Casino on March 3.

An attorney appeared on Fairbarn’s behalf during his initial appearance in Las Vegas Justice Court on Monday morning. Las Vegas Justice Court Judge Harmony Letizia told Fairbarn’s attorney she expected Fairbarn to be present in her courtroom.

Police reviewed surveillance footage, which they said showed Fairbarn entering the bird habitat and grabbing a bird named “Peachy,” documents said. Fairbarn also allegedly injured other animals in the process, including “pinning down” a second bird and “not letting it escape.” The video then shows Fairbarn returning to a hotel room with the animal, police said.

Fairbarn allegedly admitted to police that he trespassed into the bird habitat after seeing a flamingo in distress. He told police he “popped” the bird’s wing into place.

On Fairbarn’s phone, police located “several photos and videos” of him with the animal, including him torturing it, police said. In one video, Fairbarn indicated he was taking the bird home.

The Las Vegas Justice Court redacted Fairbarn’s face in the photos and stills from the videos when fulfilling a public records request.

Animal control advised Fairbarn injured the bird when he allegedly “pulled the wing out of the bird’s body,” police said. Several other birds were also injured.

During a probable cause hearing after his arrest, Las Vegas Justice Court Judge Suzan Baucum set bail at $12,000, ordering Fairbarn to have no animals in his possession and to surrender his passport. She also ordered him to wear a GPS monitor.

On Monday, Letizia warned Fairbarn’s attorney that she would send him to jail should he violate any terms of his release.

“If he has a single violation while he’s out on bail and electronic monitoring that was set by the judge in initial appearance court, he is going to be remanded without bail in this case,” she warned.

Fairbarn was scheduled to return to court on May 6.