Canadian connection
Man who killed Cecil the lion hunted here too,
There appears to be a Canadian connection to a U.S. hunter at the centre of a social media storm for killing a protected lion in Africa: The Bowhunting Records of Alberta list a Walter Palmer as having killed a mule deer legally in October 2006. It’s listed as the 187th-largest mule deer bagged in Alberta.
One media report said Palmer shot and killed a black bear in northern Quebec in 2007.
In Minnesota, the dentist, who killed the well-known lion while on a hunt in Zimbabwe, has advised his patients to seek care elsewhere since becoming a target of outrage from across the world.
Walter Palmer remained secluded in the face of protests Wednesday at his suburban Minneapolis clinic and intense condemnation online.
He has not appeared in public since being identified Tuesday as a party to the lion’s death, but has said in a statement that he was unaware the lion was protected and that he relied on his guides to ensure a legal hunt.
Palmer, whose practice offers general and cosmetic dentistry, is an active big-game hunter, with many kills to his name, some of which are registered with hunting clubs.
U.S. wildlife authorities announced an investigation Thursday into the killing of the prized lion, known as Cecil, and also revealed that they have been unable to contact Palmer.
“The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service is investigating the circumstances surrounding the killing of ‘Cecil the lion,’ ” said Edward Grace, the agency’s deputy chief of law enforcement. “That investigation will take us wherever the facts lead.”
Grace also acknowledged that “multiple efforts to contact Dr. Walter Palmer have been unsuccessful. We ask that Dr. Palmer or his representative contact us immediately.”
Palmer, 55, referred to the circumstances in a note to his patients: “I understand and respect that not everyone shares the same views on hunting,” he wrote in the letter, which was obtained by the local Fox television affiliate, KMSP.
Palmer added that the matter had disrupted his ability to see patients. The letter said the practice would “resume normal operations as soon as possible,” according to KMSP.
During the nighttime hunt, Palmer’s guides tied a dead animal to their car to draw the lion out of a national park, said Johnny Rodrigues, chairman of the Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force.
The American is believed to have shot the lion with a crossbow.
The wounded cat was then tracked for 40 hours before Palmer fatally shot him with a gun, Rodrigues said.
Using bait to lure the lion is deemed unethical by the Safari Operators Association of Zimbabwe.
Scott Ellis of the Canadian Federation of Outfitter Associations said he doesn’t believe Palmer’s actions will reflect badly on guided hunting companies in Canada.
He said the industry contributes hundreds of millions of dollars to the economy and creates thousands of jobs in rural and remote areas.
Outfitters in Canada are regulated by the provinces and territories, Ellis said. While the rules vary by jurisdiction, quotas are set to ensure that hunting is sustainable.
“As a hunter, I’m disappointed; he did an illegal act,” Ellis said Wednesday of Palmer. “We have a very green, very law-abiding community in general.”
The industry in Canada caters mainly to hunters from the United States. With files from The Canadian Press