Zimbabwe Calling for Extradition of Lion-Killing Dentist

Unfortunately it was too late to apprehend the foreign poacher as he had already absconded to his country of origin.

The landowner violated the act because he “allowed a hunt to be conducted without a quota and necessary permit”, Mr Muchinguri said.

“They wanted to tell me what they thought of me and there were some pretty ugly abusive calls to be honest with you”, he said.

On Thursday evening, Palmer’s attorney contacted the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which will begin an investigation into the matter.

The statement did not mention the death of a second lion, but the parks agency source, who is not authorised to speak to the media, said the lion had been illegally killed by a foreign hunter at a game park near Hwange on July 3.

“The illegal killing was deliberate”, said Zimbabwe’s Oppah Muchinguri about the lion she called an “iconic attraction”. He explained that he, a scout, his son who is also a professional hunter and Palmer started the hunt after the sun was down.

Cecil, who had a distinctive black mane, was a popular tourist draw at the park and was also wearing a tracking collar as part of an Oxford university research project.

Zimbabwe’s environment minister says US dentist Walter Palmer should be extradited for the “illegal” killing of Cecil the lion.

The National Parks and Wildlife Management Authority said a doctor from Pennsylvania, named as Jan Casmir Sieski, killed a lion in April.

However, the website argues that he could face action if the ,000 he paid the wildlife guides for the privilege of killing Cecil is considered to be a bribe, which The Independent suggested Tuesday.

“We are taking this issue seriously”, she said, adding that Palmer should be tried in Zimbabwe.

And back in the U.S., a petition on the White House’s “We the People” site demanding that Palmer be extradited to Africa has gathered more than 179,000 signatures in just four days.

If convicted in Zimbabwe, Palmer could be jailed up to ten years over poaching.

“They (US courts) may actually doubt the competence of the judiciary here to try him in an objective manner, particularly given these prejudicial pronouncements that the politicians are already making”, said Muchadehama.

The hunt is meanwhile said to have exposed financial difficulties facing Zimbabwe’s wildlife conservation authority as official figures show trophy hunting generates some 40 million U.S. dollars annually for the country.