Wyoming’s getting another round in the animal abuse spotlight following reports of three men who tortured a cow moose back in 2021. Justin Martin and his son, Range Martin, of Uinta County, Wyoming, and Kylan Platt of Malad City, Idaho were all charged with felony accounts related to animal cruelty after investigators obtained video footage of the encounter, according to the Uinta County Herald.

In a video taken in May of 2021, Platt stands in a bed of an off-road vehicle by the distressed cow moose with its neck “fully extended by the lariat that is pulled tightly around her neck” by Platt. Court records say the moose was “likely blind in her right eye and in poor health,” citing a still image from the video that shows Platt kneeling on the animal and holding her down.

The affidavit also describes a separate portion of the video showing Platt “riding and spurring a cow moose that appeared to be in poor health … with a lariat around her neck, standing in tall sagebrush and struggling to escape.” The document characterizes Platt’s conduct as “aggressively spurring” the animal while riding it.

The video of the encounter was allegedly shared with more than 20 phone numbers through both individual and group messages, according to the Uinta County Herald. In one exchange, Justin Martin allegedly wrote, “Looks like he was ran down a little. That’s good s---. Not many kids can say they have rode a moose.”

The phrasing of the charge, “wanton taking of a big game animal,” suggests the moose likely didn’t survive.

“[The case is] pathetic and disgusting behavior and clearly poor excuses for cowboys,” Paul Ulrich, president of Wyoming Sportsmanship said in a press release. “I am certain that our ranching community shares in my condemnation of this behavior and call for full force of the law in prosecution and sentencing. This is not the Wyoming way, not the cowboy way. It’s simply sick. The stewardship of our wildlife is something we cannot take lightly.”

The elder Martin is the owner and operator of the nearly 5,000-acre M Arrow Ranch north of Bear River. Preliminary hearings are scheduled for mid-January for Range Martin and Platt. Justin Martin’s preliminary hearing is scheduled for late February. 

This incident follows the other wolf-related stunt where Cody Roberts ran a gray wolf down with a snowmobile in order to disable it. Roberts then taped its mouth shut and took it to a bar in Daniel, Wyoming, before taking it out back and shooting it.