Zimbabwe seeks to extradite dentist who killed Cecil the lion

“It was too late to apprehend the foreign poacher because he had already absconded to his country of origin”, Muchinguri said. My client didn’t realize that this lion was a collared lion until it had been shot so it wasn’t his intention to kill such a famous lion.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has opened its own investigation, but has so far been unable to reach Walter Palmer.

As worldwide outrage over the shooting continued on Friday, French actress and animal activist Brigitte Bardot described Palmer as a “serial killer” who deserved “exemplary punishment”.

“There has been an outcry”, Muchinguri said.

CBS News correspondent Vinita Nair reports Palmer has been hounded online and off – with some people calling for his death. Legal hunts do happen, he said, but only after authorities consult with ecologists and decide that it won’t adversely affect the area. “The processes have already started”.

The National Parks and Wildlife Authority said Saturday that bow and arrow hunts have also been suspended unless they are approved by the authority’s director.

There is an extradition treaty between Zimbabwe and the United States.

The U.S. embassy in Harare said it did not comment on extradition matters as a matter of policy.

“We are trying other avenues”, said Richard Chibuwe, the deputy chief of mission at the embassy in Washington. More broadly, Mugabe has long railed against what he calls Western meddling in Africa, saying it is an extension of the colonial rule of the past. Some of palmer’s former patients are aghast at their dentist’s passion for big game hunting, Ramona Kay quit seeing him because of it. I don’t agree with some of the things that ethically that he’s done which makes me question what did he do in his dental practice and what was I supporting? But they have not specified what charges might be laid against him, meaning it is unclear what penalty he could face if he is tried and convicted.

Bronkhorst, who organised the expedition, was granted bail by the Hwange court on Wednesday after being charged with “failing to prevent an illegal hunt”.

Palmer, 55, is a dentist in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington.

Reputation Management Consultants CEO Eric Schiffer said his firm was contacted this week about helping Palmer, but declined.

Many of these lions were born and raised around humans for participation in “cub-petting” experiences – where well-meaning tourists are lured in by the experience to take photos with an adorable cub, and they have no clue about the sinister fate that awaits those animals.