Vandals spray-painted the $1.1m property’s garage and littered the driveway with pigs feet in reaction to the Minnesota dentist’s killing of Cecil the lion last month

This article is more than 5 years old

This article is more than 5 years old

Vandals spray-painted “lion killer” on an upscale Florida vacation home that is owned by an American dentist who killed Zimbabwe’s best-known lion, authorities said on Wednesday.

The damage to the home of Minnesota dentist Walter Palmer, a game hunter who last month killed 13-year-old Cecil, a rare black-maned lion, is being investigated as misdemeanor criminal mischief, said Marco Island police captain David Baer.

It was reported on Tuesday morning, and authorities in south-west Florida have not determined when it occurred, he said.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest The trial of Theo Bronkhurst, the leader of the hunting expedition that killed Cecil the Lion, was postponed until September on Wednesday

In addition to spray-painting the garage door, the culprits scattered what looked like marinated pigs feet in the driveway, said Walter Zalisko, owner of Global Investigative Group, a private firm hired to protect the property. He said the home was vacant.

Marco Island police could not confirm the information about pigs feet, which were reported and photographed by local media.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Walter Palmer’s vacation home was defaced with pigs feet drenched in hot sauce littering the driveway. Photograph: Corey Perrine/AP

Palmer, 55, has received threats on social media, and protests were held outside his suburban Minneapolis office. He has said that he “deeply regrets” killing Cecil and believed that the hunt was legal. Palmer, who has not been speaking to the media, could not immediately be reached for comment.

Security cameras were being installed to videotape vehicles outside the Florida house on a quiet cul-de-sac, Zalisko said. Palmer purchased the home for $1.1m in 2013, property records show.