Officials in Zimbabwe allege that a Minnesota dentist is responsible for slaying one of the country’s most beloved lions, Cecil.
On Tuesday, The Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force said in a statement that Walter James Palmer of Eden Prairie, Minn., paid at least $50,000 to track and kill a lion in Zimbabwe.
On Tuesday, Palmer said in a statement, “I relied on the expertise of my local professional guides to ensure a legal hunt,” CBS reported.
“I had no idea that the lion I took was a known, local favorite, was collared and part of a study until the end of the hunt,” Palmer said, according to CBS. “I deeply regret that my pursuit of an activity I love and practice responsibly and legally resulted in the taking of this lion.”
Not surprisingly, PETA believes the hunter should be hanged:
News Release: Hunting is a coward’s pastime. If, as has been reported, this dentist and his guides lured Cecil out of the park with food so as to shoot him on private property, because shooting him in the park would have been illegal, he needs to be extradited, charged, and, preferably, hanged.
To get a thrill at the cost of a life, this man gunned down a beloved lion, Cecil with a high-powered weapon. All wild animals are beloved by their own mates and infants, but to hunters like this overblown, over-privileged little man, who lack empathy, understanding, and respect for living creatures, they are merely targets to kill, decapitate, and hang up on a wall as a trophy.
The photograph of this dentist, smiling over the corpse of another animal, who, like Cecil, wanted only to be left in peace, will disgust every caring soul in the world.
— PETA President Ingrid Newkirk
(AFP Photo)
