Story highlights Official's message for hunter: "Tourists are welcome here. No hunting, though"

Walter Palmer has repeatedly said he relied on the expertise of his hunting guides

(CNN) Walter Palmer, the Minnesota dentist and big-game hunter who killed Cecil the Lion while on a July hunting expedition, won't face charges in the beloved big cat's death, a Zimbabwean minister said Monday.

There has already been ample publicity surrounding the lion's death, said the country's minister of environment, water and climate, Opa Muchinguri.

"If you talk to him, tell him that tourists are welcome here," she said. "No hunting, though."

Palmer and his family faced threats and saw worldwide protests unfold, including demonstrations outside his Bloomington office after the Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force reported that Cecil was lured out of Hwange National Park and shot with a compound bow.

Cecil lived another 40 hours until the hunters tracked him down and shot him with a gun, the conservation group said. He was then skinned and beheaded.