No Matter Whether Victim Was a Dog or a Wolf, Amber Rose Barnes Is Still a Murderer

Amber Rose Barnes of Montana proudly posted a photo on Facebook of herself posing and smiling with the corpse of a dog she had murdered in the woods and skinned. She killed someone she thought was a baby wolf and flaunted the dead, mangled body of her victim for the world to see.

(Warning: graphic image)

Barnes dropped that storyline the moment she realized that she had murdered a dog. As the public condemned her, she claimed that she had killed the animal in self-defense, but we’re not buying it. As one commenter on Twitter noted, she was well-equipped with a loud weapon and other hunting gear to scare a dog or a wolf away if she’d felt threatened.

It seems much more likely that Barnes killed this dog in cold blood—in her first post, she refers to the war on wolves in Montana, which saw hunters kill at least 273 gray wolves last year, and doesn’t mention being afraid for her life.

Wolves: Just Like Dogs, Just Like Humans

Amber Rose Barnes and other hunters clearly have no qualms about killing animals, no matter how young they are—hunters in Montana and Idaho torture wolves with leg-crushing traps and shoot pups as they sleep in their dens. Because of speciesism, hunters believe they’ve crossed a line only if they kill the wrong type of canine.

Just like dogs, humans, and countless other animals, wolves experience grief and depression over losing a loved one. Since wolves partner for life, remain faithful to their partners, and live in close-knit packs in which everyone pitches in, killing even a single wolf ruins multiple lives. It’s speciesist to deny other animals the love and consideration we give our “best friends.”

To anyone outraged by the thought of Barnes killing and skinning a husky, remember that this murder wouldn’t have been right if she had killed a wolf. The dog she killed was an individual who went through the same suffering, fear, and pain that was intended for someone just like them.

Stop the War on Wolves

The Flathead County Sheriff’s Office is investigating Barnes and her story, but in the meantime, you can do your part to end the bloody war on gray wolves, which traumatizes the animals, destroys their families and social structures, and threatens their already dwindling populations across the U.S.

Please send an urgent message to Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland asking her to implement immediate emergency protections for gray wolves and to reinstate full federal protections for them under the Endangered Species Act.