Zimbabwe to US: Extradite dentist over killing of Cecil the lion

Oppah Muchinguri described Mr Palmer as a “foreign poacher” who financed an illegal hunt.

Theo Bronkhorst, a professional Zimbabwean hunter, told AFP on Friday he had done nothing wrong on the hunt for the famed lion and said that he was surprised to find the animal wearing a tracking collar when they found the body.

However, permitted trophy hunting is far from universal in Africa, and the government in neighboring Botswana – where it is illegal – said the Cecil case showed the risks.

But a team at Oxford University’s Wildlife Conservation Unit, which had been studying Cecil at Hwange National Park before he was killed, said an adult lion had stepped in to protect the cubs.

Amid the uproar over the hunt, Palmer’s whereabouts remain unknown.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service meanwhile opened an investigation into the killing of Cecil on Thursday, after Palmer admitted to hunting down the animal. “At this point in time, however, multiple efforts to contact Dr. Walter Palmer have been unsuccessful”. “We ask that Dr. Palmer or his representative contact us immediately”, Grace added.

The petition needed to receive 100,000 signatures by August 27 to get a response.

Despite the global media coverage of Cecil’s killing, the big cat’s untimely demise has gone largely unnoticed in Zimbabwe, where average annual income is just over $1,000 and unemployment is higher than 80 percent.

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

Palmer’s dental practice in Minnesota has been the scene of protests, with crowds leaving stuffed toys of lions, tigers and monkeys outside the building.

He noted that the US allows the legal import of some 450 African lion trophies annually, and US citizens are responsible for about 60 percent of African lions recreationally hunted each year. “That was never my intention”.

If that process begins, Cevallos said the odds favor extradition, because there only has to be enough evidence to justify a trial, not result in conviction.

Macdonald said, “It will be a wonderful monument to Cecil the lion if we are empowered by these donations to continue and to increase our conservation work”.

Walter Palmer, the man who killed the famous Zimbabwe lion named Cecil, was allegedly targeting a very large elephant next, according to the guide who took him out on the hunt.

According to Cevallos, extradition proceedings are initiated by the state department before being forwarded to the U.S. Attorney’s office and finally a federal court to rule on whether there is probable cause and whether the crime satisfies the requirement of “dual criminality”.

After Cecil’s death, there were fears his young would be killed by the next lion in the hierarchy.

Hwange is favored by hunters because of its teeming wildlife, Matipano said.