US uproar over death of protected animal forces Walter Palmer’s practice to close, as two others attend Zimbabwean court to face poaching charges

This article is more than 5 years old

This article is more than 5 years old

There are mounting calls for the prosecution of an American dentist who shot dead one of Africa’s most famous lions, as two other men involved in the hunt appeared in court in Zimbabwe to face poaching charges.

Walter Palmer, who runs a dental practice in Minnesota and hunts big game in his spare time, is accused of illegally killing Cecil, a protected lion, in Zimbabwe on a $50,000 (£32,000) hunt.

Cecil the lion's death prompts calls to ban trophy hunt imports to US Read more

Professional hunter Theo Bronkhorst, and Honest Ndlovu, a local landowner, appeared in court in Victoria Falls on Wednesday.

Cecil, a popular attraction among international visitors to Hwange national park, was lured outside the reserve’s boundaries by bait and killed earlier this month.

Dr Walter Palmer (left), pictured here with another of his kills, is accused of paying £32,000 to shoot Cecil the lion. Photograph: facebook

“Both the professional hunter and landowner had no permit or quota to justify the offtake of the lion and therefore are liable for the illegal hunt,” the Zimbabwean parks authority said in a statement on Tuesday.

The statement made no mention of Palmer. But the charity Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force said Palmer and Bronkhorst had gone out at night with a spotlight and tied a dead animal to their vehicle to lure Cecil into range.

Cecil the lion's cubs most likely killed by rival lion, say conservationists Read more

In a statement to the Guardian, Palmer confirmed he had been in Zimbabwe in early July on a bow-hunting trip. “To my knowledge, everything about this trip was legal and properly handled and conducted,” he said.

He is facing angry calls in the US for his prosecution.

Former speaker of the US House of Representatives Newt Gringrich tweeted that Palmer should be jailed.

Newt Gingrich (@newtgingrich) The entire team that killed the lion cecil should go to jail including the Minneapolis dentist

Betty McCollum, a Democratic member of Congress who represents Minnesota, called on the US Fish and Wildlife Service and the Department of Justice to investigate whether the killing violated endangered species laws, according to the local Star Tribune.

Meanwhile, New Jersey lawmaker Tim Eustace proposed legislation on Wednesday that would stop the transport of game trophies of threatened or endangered species through some New York and New Jersey airports, which have heavily traveled routes between the US and Africa.

The African lion is not currently listed as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act, although the US Fish and Wildlife Service proposed listing it as threatened in October.

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Kathleen Garrigan, spokeswoman for the conservation group African Wildlife Foundation,said on Tuesday that while listing the African lion as threatened under the act would be most successful in stopping the import of hunting trophies, private companies such as airlines could help in curbing the transport of the trophies.

Protesters placed animal toys outside Palmer’s River Bluff dental practice in Bloomington, a suburb of Minneapolis. The practice was forced to close as protesters staged a recreation of the hunt involving cuddly toys and water pistols.



The Animal Rights Coalition, a US animal rights group, has planned a “peaceful protest” outside of Palmer’s office on Wednesday afternoon.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Stuffed animals on the doorstep of Walter Palmer’s River Bluff dental office in Bloomington, Minneapolis. Photograph: Scott Takushi/AP

Safari operators said Cecil, aged about 13, was an “iconic” animal who was recognised by many visitors to Hwange due to his distinctive black mane. “A lot of people travel long distances coming to Zimbabwe to enjoy our wildlife and obviously the absence of Cecil is a disaster,” Emmanuel Fundira, president of the Safari Operators Association of Zimbabwe, told reporters in the capital, Harare.

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Palmer’s Twitter and Facebook accounts and website of his dental practice were all closed after being deluged by critical comments.

Reviewers also attacked his dental clinic on Yelp. One reviewer, Andrew V, wrote: “Please visit this Dentist, if you want to be treated by a psychopath, that wants to hunt you down, see you bleeding in awful, deep pain and finally saws your head off. If you are into such things, then this is the perfect DOC to see. If you are a human, that loves this planet, then you should still visit the good DOC and spit in his face. Also punch him for the rest of us.”

British primatologist and conservationist Jane Goodall said she was “shocked and outraged” at news of Cecil’s killing.

“Not only is it incomprehensible to me that anyone would want to kill an endangered animal (fewer than 20,000 wild lions in Africa today) but to lure Cecil from the safety of a national park and then to shoot him with a crossbow...? I have no words to express my repugnance,” she said in a statement on her institute’s website.

Comedian Ricky Gervais, boxer Lennox Lewis and writer Neil Gaiman were among the celebrities expressing disgust.



US talk show host Jimmy Kimmel had an emotional response to Cecil’s death. Kimmel became visibly upset while speaking about the incident, and prompted viewers of his show to donate to a wildlife research unit.

An Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign to raise $50,000 – the cost of killing Cecil – for the Wildlife Conservation Unit to protect animals.

