The hunter in Zimbabwe and the landowner upon which the hunt took place have both been apprehended by the African nation’s wildlife authorities. “The culprits have painted Zimbabwe with a dirty brush”. Unprotected, the lionesses and cubs would then be under threat and also move away or be killed.
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“It would not be an easy case to make”, Pate said. He said funds from trophy hunting of antelope are essential to conserving wildlife.
Lawyer Alec Muchadehama said no American had been extradited to Zimbabwe since the treaty was signed, adding that Harare would face legal and political hurdles with Palmer. “This killing is a huge loss to our tourism sector that was contributing immensely to the national wealth”.
Zimbabwe is also seeking the extradition of the Minnesota dentist, accused of killing Cecil.
In a statement released Friday, the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority charged that “on the 1st of July 2015, this lion was illegally killed by Dr. Walter Palmer, a United States of America national and Theo Bronkhorst, a professional hunter with Bushman Safaris on Antoinette farm in Gwayi River Conservancy”.
Two other illegal lion hunts also were recorded last year in Zimbabwe, said Geoffrey Matipano, conservation director for the wildlife authority.
So far, $470,000 has been raised, enough to fund research into lion conservation in Hwange National Park for two years, it said.
Wildlife officials say Palmer shot Cecil with a crossbow, but he didn’t die immediately. “Our prosecutors have not made any decision to press any charges against Palmer”, waiting until the other trial begins.
Palmer earlier through his spokesman alleged that he followed his local guide in carrying out the hunt and didn’t know it was illegal.
The hunting party was “devastated” to discover that Cecil was wearing a Global Positioning System collar, he insisted.
Jericho the lion is alive and well and roaming his park habitat in Zimbabwe, the Oxford University researcher tracking the lion confirmed on Sunday.
Cecil – a major tourist draw at Hwange – was lured out of the park sanctuary with a dead animal on top of a vehicle, according to the Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force. That’s about all I completely understand about the incident that’s created a social media frenzy.
The agency is investigating the circumstances surrounding the death of the lion, named Cecil.
Earlier this week came the news that Cecil had been killed by American trophy hunter Walter Palmer. “This is the standard procedure for lions”.
“We found it and it was wounded, and the client then shot it, with his bow and arrow, and killed it”, Bronkhorst explained.
Rodrigues noted that Cecil’s death helped educate the world about the senselessness of big game hunting.
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Blumenthal said the CECIL Animal Trophies Act would extend the import and export protections for a species listed under the Endangered Species Act. “This animal is going to be a legend”. Where is all of this fervor for things such as an estimated 3 million children dying in the world annually to malnutrition, or the thousands of people annually who are murdered because of their religion, race, or gender?
