Federal authorities contacted by representative of Minnesota dentist who

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

Please use this rare moment in time when the world is paying attention to ensure that Cecil did not die in vain and that his murder is wake-up call to the millions of people who have not made the connection between the animals we love – like lions, whales and dogs – and the animals we consume. “I relied on the experience of my native skilled guides to make sure a authorized hunt”, he stated in a press release launched Tuesday.

Cecil, who had a distinctive black mane, was a popular tourist attraction at the park and was also wearing a tracking collar as part of a University of Oxford research project.

She said Palmer, who reportedly paid $50,000 to hunt the lion, also violated the act through financing an illegal hunt. Only two lions were illegally killed last year, he said.

Lawyer Alec Muchadehama told Reuters that no American had been extradited to Zimbabwe since the treaty was signed, adding that Harare faced legal and political hurdles.

“They (U.S. courts) may actually doubt the competence of the judiciary here to try him in an objective manner particularly given these prejudicial pronouncements that the politicians are already making”, said Muchadehama.

“Hunting of lions, leopards and elephants outside of Hwange National Park has been suspended with immediate effect”, Zimbabwe’s wildlife authority said in a statement.

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

The announcement follows an worldwide outcry stemming from an American hunter’s killing of a lion named Cecil that was allegedly was lured out of a national park.

According to the official, after Cecil was killed, his head was severed by the hunters – and it’s been confiscated by wildlife authorities.

Prosecutors say he didn’t have a quota for lion hunting on his land in the Gwaai conservancy, although he may well have had a quota for hunting different game.

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.