A Wyoming man named Aron Snyder is currently playing damage control after a cringey, viral video resurfaced showing him getting way too personal with a coyote. In the clip, Snyder is seen throwing, kicking, and ultimately stabbing the predator. His defense? It happened back in Texas around 2019, the coyote was already messing with his buddy’s livestock, and he had accidentally left his gun back in his truck—leaving him to finish the job with a knife. While a few internet strangers patted him on the back for “doing what he had to do,” the hunting community and animal welfare groups collectively facepalmed, calling it animal cruelty and a “very bad optic.”
The real-world consequences hit Snyder fast and hard. He was quickly fired from his gig at Born Primitive Outdoor apparel, a move he says he respects, while spinning the whole ordeal as a “blessing in disguise” to finally delete his social media. Meanwhile, Texas authorities are a bit too busy dealing with actual floods and flesh-eating screwworms to immediately hunt him down. Plus, because Snyder claims the incident happened years ago, he might just skate past the statute of limitations for animal cruelty charges.
Even though animal rights groups are still offering a $3,000 bounty for info that could convict him, hunting advocates are hoping this serves as a loud, public reminder for everyone else: if you’re going out into the woods, respect the wildlife, and for the love of everything, don’t leave your gun in the truck. Also, remember that when something is put on the internet, it doesn’t ever go away.
Read the full article via Cowboy State Daily here.
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