Outrage Grows Following Lion’s Slaying

Stuffed animals are placed in front of Walter Palmer’s dental practice, River Bluff Dental, in Bloomington, Minn., on Wednesday, July 29, 2015.

In the wake of the killing of one of Zimbabwe’s most popular protected animals, a social media explosion has forced the situation into the worldwide spotlight.

It’s believed that Cecil was shot with a bow and arrow, stalked for 40 hours, and then killed with a rifle shot.

“The saddest part of all is that now that Cecil is dead, the next lion in the hierarchy, Jericho will most likely kill all Cecil’s cubs so that he can insert his own bloodline into the females”.

According to CNN, two men from Zimbabwe who helped Palmer find Cecil were freed on bail Wednesday and said they were innocent of poaching.

Kanyongo said Palmer should also be held responsible for the lion’s death.

Palmer, a dentist living in the Minneapolis suburb of Eden Prairie, said in a statement that he was unaware the lion was protected and relied on his guides to ensure a legal hunt.

Cecil was skinned and beheaded, and the hunters tried to destroy the Global Positioning System collar that Cecil was wearing as part of research backed by Oxford University, the group said. “It creates incentives for people to look after wildlife”, said Adri Kitshoff, chief executive of the Professional Hunters’ Association of South Africa.

Zimbabwe National Parks and Wildlife Authority and the Safari Operators Association said in a joint statement that the farm owner did not have a hunting permit, and that the professional hunter’s license has been suspended and the trophy from the lion hunt has been confiscated. While activists have pushed for Palmer to be charged for poaching in both the United States and Zimbabwe, Palmer has said that he thought the hunt was conducted legally.

The identity of the man who actually shot the lion was unknown until Tuesday, when several news outlets ousted Palmer as individual who fatally wounded the lion with a bow and arrow.

Ultimately for the benefit or Africa’s wildlife, Johnstone says, “we should be encouraging hunting, we shouldn’t be screaming and charging against it”. He suffered a slow, painful death at the hands of Dr. Brown, who claims he had no idea Cecil was famous.

The Zimbabwean court has charged a professional hunter for failing to prevent an American from unlawfully killing a lion. Palmer reportedly paid $50,000 to track and kill a black-maned lion, just outside Hwange National Pa…

“Not sure why this dentist wears full-on chaps”, writes one reviewer.

Sarah Madison brought her two children, including her 3-year-old son dressed in a lion costume and carrying a sign that said, “Protect me”. Along with guides, they tied a dead animal caucus to their SUV and lured the lion out from the safety of the sanctuary. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposed listing lions as an endangered species last year, which would create restrictions on lion hunting by U.S. citizens.

Amid a fierce outpouring of anger, radical US animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) even called for Palmer to be hanged.

The agency’s proposal would allow permits for the importation of sport-hunted lion trophies only if the lions come from countries with a “scientifically sound management plan for African lions”.

Walter Palmer, who has a felony record in the U.S. related to shooting a black bear in Wisconsin, released a statement Tuesday after Zimbabwean authorities identified him as the American involved in the July hunt.