As the outrage continues over the killing of one of Zimbabwe's most famous animals,Cecil the Lion, the hunter ,an American dentist who killed the friendly lion loved by tourists and wildlife rangers has blamed his guides for the kills.Trusting Cecil who enjoyed being around humans was lured from the Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe before he was shot by Palmer.
Dentist Walter Palmer, who paid £35,000 to butcher Cecil the lion also claims he was unaware of the big cat's fame.In a statement he said:
“I hired several professional guides, and they secured all proper permits. To my knowledge, everything about this trip was legal.“I had no idea that the lion I took was a known local favourite, was collared and part of a study.”
Cecil, a 13-year-old game park attraction, lay injured in agony overnight after the American father-of-two shot him with a bow and arrow.The lion was found the next day by hunters who finished him with a rifle, before beheading and skinning him.
Officials are still searching for the lion’s head and fear it may already be out of the country, after the dentist, from Minnesota, paid around £35,000 for his lion hunt
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| Cecil the Lion |
Dominic Dyer of the Born Free Foundation, which protects threatened species, said:
“There are a large number of north American hunters going into Africa.
“This one seems to be willing to push the boundaries to get to animals he wants to kill.”
“The Zimbabwe authorities say he wasn’t given a licence to use a bow to go into the national park to kill an animal. You can’t kill an animal at night in the park, so that was illegal as well.
“What he basically did – and the hunt operators are also being held accountable here – is he lured the animal out by putting meat on a vehicle to bring it to where they needed to go.You need to get very physically close to a lion to shoot it with a bow. Clearly this is all illegal.”
Johnny Rodrigues, head of the Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force, said:
“Cecil’s death is a tragedy, not only because he was a symbol of Zimbabwe but because now we have to give up for dead his six cubs, as a new male won’t allow them to live so as to encourage Cecil’s three females to mate.”
Mr Palmer is thought to have hunted in Zimbabwe before.He is now in hiding and being hunted by Zimbabwe police who want to charge him with poaching.
UK Mirror