Cecil the lion: £230000 donated to Oxford researchers

“The illegal killing was deliberate”, Ms. Muchinguri, a senior member of President Robert Mugabe’s ruling ZANU-PF party, told a news conference, adding that Mr. Palmer’s use of a bow and arrow to kill the lion – which is said to have been lured out of the national park with bait before being shot – contravened Zimbabwean hunting regulations.

It turned out to be Cecil – a major tourist draw at Hwange – who had been lured out of the park sanctuary with a dead animal on top of a vehicle, according to the Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force.

“We are taking this issue seriously”, he said, adding that Palmer should be tried in Zimbabwe for his alleged offenses.

Millions of viewers saw Jimmy Kimmel get emotional over the killing of Cecil the Lion in Zimbabwe, and thousands of them took action at his urging.

But, both Zimbabweans were arrested, and Muchinguri said the hunt violated the Parks and Wildlife Act on several counts.

Muchinguri said that there was also much outcry in Zimbabwe and that almost 500,000 people had called via Facebook for Palmer’s extradition. “We ask Dr Palmer or his rep to contact USFWS immediately”, the US Fish and Wildlife Service wrote in a Twitter post. “That was never my intention”. “For inquiries regarding any law enforcement aspects of the case, we refer you to the Government of Zimbabwe or the Department of Justice”.

The U.S. Embassy in Zimbabwe said Friday that it does not comment on extradition matters and the Zimbabwe Embassy in Washington said it had yet to receive instructions. We have certain processes we have to follow, ‘ Muchinguri said at the offices of the national parks and wildlife authority.

The US Fish and Wildlife Service opened an investigation Thursday into the killing of Cecil, after Palmer admitted to hunting down the animal. Prior to the Cecil saga, the WildCru – the Wildlife Conservation Research Unit – said it had been discussing winding down its poaching-control project because funding was drying up.

Cecil’s death has since sparked outrage, especially as he was part of a study being conducted by Oxford University and was wearing a Global Positioning System tracking collar, which helped authorities determine who the guides were, and eventually led them to Palmer.

The Cecil story is also intersecting with the #BlackLivesMatter movement, with writers and social-media users wondering aloud why the same outpouring of emotion is not given to the growing number of unarmed black Americans dying during encounters with police.

Tom Kaplan, a natural resource investor whose net worth was put by Forbes magazine at $1 billion, and his wife, Daphne, will match donations made after 3 p.m. London time (1400 GMT) Friday up to a total value of $100,000.