The killing of Cecil the lion is being investigated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to determine whether it was part of a conspiracy to violate U.S. laws against illegal wildlife trading, a source close to the case told Reuters on Thursday.
Advertisement
Palmer has admitted killing Cecil the lion but has said he thought the hunt he was on was legal.
Muchinguri also said Palmer’s use of a bow and arrow to kill the lion, who is said to have been lured out of Hwange National Park with bait before being shot, was in contravention of Zimbabwean hunting regulations. The two Zimbabweans who assisted Palmer in his hunt have been charged with poaching and released on bail.
Of that total, US$451,061 went to scores of federal candidates and US$243,579 went to the Hunter Defense Fund, a political action committee.
Outside Zimbabwe’s environmental and activist circles, however, the reaction been muted.
“You don’t want to hear some of the things I want to do to that man”, the 93-year-old actress said. I should have taken it to Parks, I admit that. I will probably miss him.
An economic meltdown over the last few years has closed many companies and left two thirds of the population working in the informal economy while battling acute water and electricity shortages.
The African Wildlife Foundation, based in Nairobi but with an office in Washington, was inundated with calls and emails of people expressing sadness over the death of the lion, said spokeswoman Mayu Mishina.
One way to curb the killing is to forbid Americans from bringing home animal trophies.
“It’s very sad that the American chose to travel all the way to kill our animals”, said Clinton Manyuchi.
Palmer, 55, of Eden Prairie, shot and wounded the lion with a bow and arrow on July 1.
Until this announcement, the USFWS and the U.S. Justice Department had said just a day earlier that they would merely be assisting Zimbabwe authorities in their investigation into Cecil’s death.
“He is alleged to have lured Cecil from the safety of the national park to kill him”.
If convicted, they face up to 15 years in prison in Zimbabwe. We took the head and skin, as the client had paid for the trophy. The association has since revoked his license. “Infanticide is the most likely outcome”, an Oxford wildlife researcher told the Telegraph. And as of Thursday morning, however, he no longer appeared to have a media representative. “I understand and respect that not everyone shares the same views on hunting”, he wrote in the letter, which added that he would “resume normal operations as soon as possible”.
Social media has erupted in anger over the reports, with high profile figures including comedian Ricky Gervais taking to Twitter, brandishing the hashtag #CecilTheLion.
Advertisement
Nonetheless, the condemnation of Palmer not only is over-the-top but says a lot about our inability to channel outrage and otherwise have a collective sense of moral priorities.
