Cecil the Lion Killer Won’t Be Charged by Zimbabwe Officials

A few called Palmer a monster and a murderer, and the uproar all but forced him underground.

Nearly immediately after authorities released the identity of Cecil’s killer, Palmer became the subject of global outrage.

The United States dentist who sparked an worldwide outcry after killing a lion in Zimbabwe will not be prosecuted because he had obtained the legal authority to hunt, officials say.

“The documents were there”, she added. “The problem now remains internal”.

Palmer reportedly paid more than $50,000 to kill the lion at Zimbabwe’s Hwange National Park. The Reuters piece mentions the “Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force” is still trying to get the USA government to charge Palmer with something, while the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has been “investigating” the case.

Theo Bronkhorst, a professional hunter in Zimbabwe, has been charged with breaching hunting rules in connection to the hunt in which Cecil was killed.

Now, however, not only is Palmer cleared of all charges, but he is also allowed to return to Zimbabwe as a tourist.

However, two Zimbabwean men were charged for luring Cecil into an area where hunting is permitted and may go to prison for up to 15 years if convicted.

The minister said Honest Ndlovu, the local landowner, did not have a hunting quota for a lion but that the rural district council covering the land did.

Palmer, a dentist, has a practice located in Bloomington, M.N., that was shut down in July because of protests and widespread claims put against him.

“I had no idea that the lion I took was a known, local favorite, was collared and part of a study until the end of the hunt”, said Palmer at the time.

“It’s been especially hard on my wife and daughter”, Palmer told the news organizations. Protesters gathered outside and the clinic’s social media page attracted thousands of negative comments. “I don’t understand that level of humanity”, he said last month.

Muchinguri told Rueters that Palmer would be welcome back in Zimbabwe as a tourist, but not as a hunter.