Zimbabwe calls for US hunter to be extradited over lion death

Palmer, a resident of Eden Prairie, Minnesota, has admitted killing the 13-year-old lion, a favorite with foreign tourists and the subject of an Oxford University study.

The discovery that Cecil, the star of Zimbabwe national park, had been lured out and killed by American bow hunter and dentist Walter James Palmer has resulted in online anger and protests at his dental clinic.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service tweeted Friday that the agency was voluntarily contacted a day earlier by a representative of Walter Palmer.

Zimbabwe’s wildlife authorities on Saturday announced restrictions on hunting around the country’s biggest game reserve following the killing of a much-loved lion by a US dentist, AFP reported.

“Unfortunately it was too late to apprehend the foreign poacher as he had already absconded to his country of origin”, Oppah Muchinguri told a news conference.

The killing has sparked social media outrage against Dr Palmer in the US.

The White Home has stated it’ll reply to any petition that reaches 100,000 signatures inside 30 days. Richard Chibuwe, deputy chief of the mission, said Zimbabwe takes the case very seriously and noted that two Zimbabwean men face court proceedings for helping Palmer.

“We already know from his statement he’s going to say, ‘I relied on the local guides”. Palmer’s guides face fines and jail time.

But spokesman Josh Earnest said it was up to the US justice department to respond to any extradition order. Muchinguri said Palmer used a bow and arrow to kill the lion.

“To bait and kill a threatened animal, like this African lion, for sport can not be called hunting, but rather a disgraceful display of callous cruelty”, Betty McCollum said on Wednesday.

Of course, it remains to be seen whether the government would consider extraditing Palmer, who has yet to be charged with a crime in the U.S. Bronkhorst is now facing charges in Zimbabwe.

“It is a corrupt business from start to finish”, conservation group Lion Alert said in a statement published on its website. He said Palmer, who reportedly paid $50,000 to hunt the lion, also violated the act through financing an illegal hunt.

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

She said Cecil was “an iconic attraction… which we had successfully managed to look after both in terms of conservation and protection from a cub to a fully-grown lion of 13 years”.