The US dentist who killed a lion in Zimbabwe had done nothing wrong and was a “good man”, AFP quotes the hunter who led the expedition as saying.
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Theo Bronkhorst, who runs a safari company, will stand trial on September 28 on charges of organising an illegal hunt.
Theo Bronkhorst was arrested last week and charged with breaching hunting rules when he helped Palmer lure Cecil, a rare black-maned lion, out of Hwange National Park and shoot him with a bow and arrow, in a case that caused worldwide outrage online and put the spotlight on big game hunting in Africa.
Professional hunter Theodore Bronkhorst is seen in his auto with his lawyer Givemore Muvhiringi, back, upon their arrival at the magistrates courts to face trial in Hwange about 700 kilometres south west of Harare, Zimbabwe, Wednesday, August 5, 2015.
“I feel sorry for my client [Mr Palmer]”. But Bronkhorst said that he was innocent and he got all the permits which require to kill the elderly lion that was outside the National park boundaries.
If convicted, Bronkhorst faces a fine of $20,000 and up to 10 years in jail. He was ordered to surrender his passport and report three times a week to his local police station.
FILE – In this image takem from a November 2012 video made available by Paula French, a well-known, protected lion known as Cecil strolls around in Hwange National Park, in Hwange, Zimbabwe.
Zimbabwean authorities have launched a crackdown on illegal hunting since the death of Cecil, though some have argued that hunting plays a key role in conservation and provides essential revenue and jobs. We have had many, many death threats.
“If we do not use wildlife sustainably there will be no wildlife”, the professional hunter said.
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Zimbabwe said it is seeking the extradition of Walter Palmer, the Minnesota dentist who killed the lion.
