Zimbabwe Accuses Second American Doctor of Lion Poaching

A news release from Zimbabwe’s national Parks and Wildlife Management Authority only named Dr. Seski as a client of Sibanda’s and does not indicate that he has been charged with any violations, according to the Post-Gazette. The lion was lured out of Hwange park, wounded with a bow and arrow, then tracked down and shot, conservationists stated.

Another hunter, who feared that hunting in Zimbabwe was now on its last legs, said: “Some of us have been through the data in connection with the hunt in which Palmer was involved, and it all looks okay according to the present legislation”. His death brought widespread condemnation of Palmer, and the practice of hunting lions and other big game trophy in general and prompted Zimbabwe to demand his extradition.

“He conducted his hunt in good faith and now he is being treated as if he is some criminal”, Sibanda said from his safari area near Zimbabwe’s Hwange National Park. Bow and arrow hunts were also suspended and can only be approved by the head of the wildlife authority.

“I’m not saying an end to everything”, he said.

“Almost 500,000 people are calling for his extradition and we need this support”.

“During this trip, Dr. Seski did lawfully hunt and take a lion”, said his Washington attorney, Gregory Linsin.

“I had to put my phone off. Hunters are using this as a way to get to me, sending insults and remarks by email and by text”, he said.

But it was seized by police on 7 July from the home of Mr Bronkhorst, a guide on the illegal hunt attended by Mr Palmer.

Like the American hunter who killed Cecil, Seski’s reputation has also been ravaged on the Internet by opponents of trophy hunting, reports CBS News correspondent Anna Werner. But officials in Zimbabwe now want to speak with him about the lion he hunted in April, which they say happened without the proper permit.

“Jericho is in fact alive and well and has adopted Cecil’s cubs”, the organization said.

Daniel Rohlf, a professor who teaches wildlife law at Lewis and Clark Law School, said that on this issue, “The United States is reluctant to meddle in the affairs of other countries, so that’s why we don’t criminalize U.S. citizens hunting in foreign countries”.

But Bronkhorst told AFP on Friday that they had “shot an old male lion that I believed was past his breeding age…”

Similarly, when Cecil’s coalition partner Jericho was reported dead last weekend, researchers disproved the report by publishing a screen-grab of his Global Positioning System co-ordinates.