Despite what seems to be growing support, lawmakers in Wyoming are poised not to pursue a 2026 committee bill seeking to ban the use of snowmobiles and other vehicles to intentionally kill wildlife. A personal bill is still a possibility. 

What's happening?

It's looking like the controversial practice of using a snowmobile to purposely kill predatory animals could continue to be legal in Wyoming for the foreseeable future. Although the proposal was submitted twice to the Travel, Recreation, Wildlife and Cultural Resources Committee, the idea to use some time during the interim session to draft a 2026 bill on the subject was not selected by the legislative body as a priority topic, reported WyoFile.

Wyoming State Representative Andrew Byron says that the proposed ban was simply not at the top of the list. "That didn't even come close to rising to the top," Byron told WyoFile. "We had our committee members rank their priorities."   

Some in agriculture have said they need the practice, the outlet reported, ostensibly to protect their animals and livelihoods. Meanwhile, different lawmakers and advocates have been working over a period of years to get a ban off the ground, with perhaps the first bill introduced in 2019.

Last year, the state made national headlines when a Wyoming resident ran over a wolf with his snowmobile. He then proceeded to display the mortally wounded animal around a nearby town, even taking it inside a bar. 

Why is the use of snowmobiles to kill wolves concerning?

According to the Wyoming Game & Fish Department, wolves that have been classified as predatory, which is based on their location, can be hunted throughout the year without a license. They are reportedly classified as predatory in about 85% of the state. 

In these parts of Wyoming, wolves can legally be killed by various means, including with a snowmobile. The one stipulation is documenting the event. "Any wolf harvested in the predatory animal area must be reported to the department within 10 days of harvest," the WGFD writes.

Although the use of snowmobiles and other vehicles to kill predators is considered legal within these bounds, Wyoming State Representative Karlee Provenza believes the practice should end. She was one of the two members of the legislative body to submit the topic for interim consideration. 

"Such conduct is cruel, unsportsmanlike, and damages Wyoming's reputation as a responsible manager of wildlife," stated the submission from Provenza's office. 

Responsible wildlife management includes considerations for biodiversity. Keeping the unlicensed killing of wolves and other predators by vehicle on the books seems potentially counter to the aims of supporting the fragile balance of biodiverse ecosystems, which can be the key to everything from healthy food systems to disease spread prevention.

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What can be done about the use of vehicles to kill wildlife?

Early in 2025, Byron introduced House Bill 0275 as a response to the 2024 situation. It prohibits, in part, a person from "knowingly, and with intent to cause undue suffering, [torturing], [tormenting] or [mutilating] living wildlife, including predatory animals and predacious birds, after reducing the living wildlife to possession."

A number of hunters came out in support of the bill. And Governor Mark Gordon signed it into law at the end of February. But the legislation does not ban the use of vehicles to kill predators, despite attempts to amend it. And now a committee bill to that end is unlikely to move forward at the moment.

Meanwhile, a personal bill could still be presented in the 2026 session, though, as the WyoFile reported, it could face a big uphill battle in a year when the session will be focused on budget matters.

Meanwhile, from the perspective of Jess Johnson, government affairs director at the Wyoming Wildlife Federation, there appears to be a disconnect in the state. 

"Statute is one of the ways we as Wyoming present ourselves to the world, and to each other — it is important that the optics match the ethics I know most Wyoming citizens and hunters have," Johnson told WyoFile. "We also must be willing to be at the table and listen to our neighbors in agriculture and their needs."

For now, snowmobiles will continue to be considered a legal instrument to kill wolves in the large swaths of the state where the practice is protected. Supporting more pro-environment candidates could help to build a coalition to galvanize solutions to issues like this across the country.

" … Something needs to change," Johnson added. "And we need to do it thoughtfully, creatively, collaboratively and in the spirit of the Wyoming we want to see into the future."

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