Zimbabwe has called for the US dentist who shot Cecil the lion dead during a hunting trip to be extradited back to Africa to face poaching charges, which could carry a lengthy prison sentence.
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Hundreds of thousands of Zimbabweans had called for Palmer’s extradition on social media, according to Muchinguri.
Palmer has said he relied on his guides to ensure the hunt was legal.
The landowner violated the act because he “allowed a hunt to be conducted without a quota and necessary permit”, Mr Muchinguri said.
While a professional hunter and a farm owner have been arrested in the killing, Palmer has not been charged.
“This must be condemned in the strongest possible terms by all genuine, animal-loving conservationists who believe in sustainable utilization of natural resources”, Muchinguri said. Legal hunts do happen, he said, but only after authorities consult with ecologists and decide that it won’t adversely affect the area.
Walter Palmer went into hiding after it became known that he had lured Cecil the lion out of his Hwange National Park sanctuary and shot him with a crossbow.
The 13-year-old lion, recognizable by the black streaks in his mane, suffered a slow death, the conservation group said. On Thursday, information minister Prisca Mupfumira responded, “What lion?” when asked a question about Cecil’s death. Friday’s tweet says the investigation is ongoing.
Walter Palmer with a leopard he killed in Zimbabwe. The vote was non-binding, but expressed serious concern over the steady rise of illegal animal hunting and urged member states to consider it a “serious crime”.
The petition needed to receive 100,000 signatures by August 27 to get a response.
“How much does $55,000 sound like now?”
“They (US 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.
Palmer has closed his dental office in suburban Minneapolis, MN, and denied any wrongdoing. “That was never my intention”. The HSUS and Humane Society worldwide (HSI) strongly urge the United States to cooperate with the extradition effort.
The US Justice Department said it does not comment on extradition requests.
Zimbabwe’s National Parks and Wildlife Authority said Saturday it has suspended the hunting of lions, leopards and elephants outside of Hwange National Park, and that bow and arrow hunts have also been suspended unless they are approved by the authority’s director.
Oxford University’s Wildlife Conservation Unit, the team originally tasked with monitoring Cecil, will continue to watch the late lion’s cubs. Its researchers had been tracking Cecil since 2008. Between 1999 and 2013, the United States imported the trophies of about 5,763 wild lions or 411 per year.
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Cevallos wrote it’s the “dual criminality” clause that has the best chance of keeping Palmer in the U.S. if extradition proceedings are initiated. Cecil befriended another male lion, Jericho, and together they grew and watched over two prides, one with three lionesses and seven cubs and another with three lionesses.
