Palmer is believed to have shot the lion with a bow on July 1 outside Hwange National Park, after it was lured onto private land with a carcass of an animal laid out on a auto.
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Zimbabwe suspends the hunting of lions and elephants in some areas following the killing of Cecil the lion.
“The illegal killing was deliberate”, she said at a news conference.
Palmer, a keen big game hunter who posts pictures of his kills on social media, is said to have paid around $50,000 (£32,000) for the chance to kill Cecil, a protected 13-year-old lion famous for his black-fringed mane, in Zimbabwe’s Hwange national park earlier this month.
Mr Muchinguri said both Mr Palmer and Theo Bronkhorst, a professional hunter who accompanied him, had violated Zimbabwe’s Parks and Wildlife Act, which controls the use of bow and arrow hunting.
The killing of Cecil the lion has prompted US lawmakers to push for a law to block hunters from bringing home endangered species “trophies”. Will go where facts lead.
First, Harare has to apply to US courts and satisfy them that Palmer committed an offence, and that he would be jailed for more than one year if convicted.
Oppah Muchinguri said Dr Palmer was a “foreign poacher” and the process had already been started to have him extradited.
And back in the U.S., a petition on the White House’s “We the People” site demanding that Palmer be extradited to Africa has gathered more than 179,000 signatures in just four days.
The US dentist killer of Cecil the lion has reportedly gone into hiding as US officials wish to contact him. Palmer shot the beloved animal in Zimbabwe with a crossbow.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) Office of Law Enforcement confirmed in a statement that Dr. Palmer’s representative has “voluntarily” reached out to them on Thursday, according to a report by NBC News. I relied on the expertise of my local professional guides to ensure a legal hunt.
Mark Toner, U.S. State Department deputy spokesman, said, “And obviously humanitarian concerns and the ability of an individual to receive a fair trial may be considered at that stage of the process”.
Late Thursday afternoon, the hunting organization Safari Club global announced that it had suspended the memberships of Palmer and his guide. Some 40 hours later, the wounded cat was tracked down and Palmer allegedly killed it with a gun, they said.
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Meanwhile the Zimbabwe Embassy in Washington said it hasn’t received specific instructions on the extradition yet.
