U.S. authorities said the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service was investigating “the circumstances surrounding the killing of Cecil the lion”.
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It is against a man and a culture that believe killing gorgeous, sentient animals, not for food or to end a danger but to behead them for trophies and let their carcasses rot in the sun, is not grotesque. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said it’s ready to assist Zimbabwe in its investigation and it is conducting its own probe. Attempts by CNBC since Wednesday to contact Palmer for a comment have resulted in no response.
Bronkhorst also described for the Telegraph the moment he realized Cecil was a protected lion, and was wearing a tracking collar: “I was devastated”, he said.
Muchinguri said Palmer and the two Zimbabweans “deliberately” killed Cecil as they, though on trophy hunting, didn’t get permission for hunting lion, and violated local hunting regulations by using a crossbow and arrows to hunt the lion.
The Guardian reports that Zimbabwe’s minister for environment, water and climate, Oppah Muchinguri, announced the call for Palmer’s extradition in a press conference this morning.
Reported by Muchinguri, Palmer had left the country for the US before Zimbabwean authorities could apprehend him.
The whereabouts of Mr Palmer is now unknown, but he is thought to have returned to the US after Cecil was killed on 1 July. The southern African country has blamed its economic woes on U.S. sanctions against President Robert Mugabe and close associates, though many commentators have attributed Zimbabwe’s economic decline to mismanagement.
After the incident, Palmer said he was also looking for an elephant that weighed a minimum 63 pounds, as stated by Bronkhorst.
Mr. Palmer has not been seen in public since news of Cecil’s killing broke, but he released a statement Tuesday apologizing for “the taking of this lion” and denying any knowledge that the hunt was not legal.
A White House petition for his extradition had reached more than 160,000 signatures by Friday. Administration spokesman Josh Earnest said it was up to the Department of Justice to decide on extradition requests from Zimbabwe.
The act, tied to a United Nations treaty for the protection of animals, governs the actions of Americans who violate the laws of foreign governments.
First, Harare has to apply to U.S. courts and satisfy them that Palmer committed an offence, and that he would be jailed for more than one year if convicted. He’s a member of the trophy-hunting organization Safari Club, and his profile on that club’s website lists 43 kills.
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The lion’s head, which was severed by the hunters, has been confiscated by the wildlife authorities, according to Director of National Parks and Wildlife Edson Chidziya.
