Safari Club membership paused for US hunter in lion killing

The dentist referenced the situation in a note to his patients.

A petition asking the Obama administration to extradite Palmer to Zimbabwe in connection with the lion’s death had more than 144,000 signatures on Thursday, two days after it was created. With his death it is likely that Cecil’s cubs will be killed by the next male to take over his pride.

The agency said Thursday that it has been unable to reach Dr. Walter Palmer despite repeated attempts to contact him.

Investigators have identified the poacher to be Walter Palmer, a dentist from Minnesota.

He is an active big-game hunter, with many kills to his name, some of them registered with hunting clubs.

“To my knowledge, everything about this trip was legal and properly handled and conducted”, Palmer said in a statement posted on the Star Tribune newspaper website.

Still, the predator has become the prey: as authorities investigate the legitimacy of Palmer’s involvement in the hunt, he’s being crucified on social media worldwide.

Naturally, Palmer suddenly can not be found, even though the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has stated that they would very much like to talk to him.

The animal had a Global Positioning System collar fitted for a research project by UK-based Oxford University that allowed authorities to track its movements. But he’s made no public comments since then.

“We ask Dr Palmer or his rep to contact USFWS immediately”.

According to The Associated Press, the resolution, sponsored by Gabon and Germany, was approved by consensus, but is not legally binding. As of Tuesday, the Task Force still didn’t know the whereabouts of the head.

An attorney who represented Palmer in a prior case also has not returned messages.

Zimbabwe government officials are not saying if they would seek Palmer’s extradition.

Professional hunter Theo Bronkhorst appeared in court Wednesday on charges that he helped kill the lion outside of designated hunting quotas and he was released on $1,000 bail. Prosecutors have not yet charged a second suspect who was named as an accomplice.

There’s at least one person who’s coming out in defense of the Minnesota dentist who’s under attack – and reportedly has gone into hiding – for killing Cecil the African lion.

Outside Zimbabwe’s environmental and activist circles, however, the reaction been muted. It’s also not illegal to kill a lion wearing a radio tracking collar, as Cecil was.

There has been some backlash in hunting circles.

This is not the first time Palmer has been in trouble for hunting.

“It’s so cruel, but I don’t understand the whole fuss, there are so many pressing issues in Zimbabwe – we have water shortages, no electricity and no jobs – yet people are making noise about a lion?” said Eunice Vhunise, a Harare resident.