Dentist’s shooting of Cecil good for the pride — author

Wilbur Smith, the South African author, has waded into the row surrounding Cecil the lion’s death by suggesting the animal was “going downhill fast” and the United States dentist who killed it probably “did his pride a favour”.

Smith, 82, a keen hunter himself, said hunting was “the right thing to do” to aid conservation and argued that the black-maned lion killed by Dr Walter Palmer would have been a liability to his pride. “Poor Cecil the lion was 18 years old, losing his teeth and going downhill fast,” he said. “The American dentist probably did his offspring and his pride a favour.”

His comments are likely to enrage the animal rights lobby already angered by the death of Cecil — actually 13 years old — around 1.5km outside the border of Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe on July 1. Palmer and Theo Bronkhorst, a local hunter, lured the animal using bait then shot and injured it with a bow and arrow. The next day, they found the wounded lion, which had been collared by researchers from Oxford University, and shot it dead. While shooting a collared lion is not illegal, Zimbabwe’s authorities have sought to prosecute Bronkhorst and Palmer for allegedly hunting without the correct permit — which they deny.

A lion called Jericho is now in charge of the pride of seven cubs and several lionesses. But there are fears the cubs might fall prey to a rival male. Smith made his comments during a promotional tour for his latest book, Golden Lion. Brent Staplekamp, one of the researchers monitoring Cecil, said the lion was in his prime. Kelly Marnewick, of the Endangered Wildlife Trust, said: “Before you shoot a lion, you need to know its sex, age and if it is part of a pride with cubs. I don’t believe that’s what happened with Cecil.” From today English shoppers are being charged 5p for plastic bags as part of a Government scheme to reduce litter and protect wildlife. The move will require shoppers at all supermarkets and large shops to use their own bags or pay the charge. Environmentalists have welcomed the move but have called for a more comprehensive scheme which includes all retailers and all types of bags. Under the new scheme, retailers with 250 or more fulltime equivalent employees will have to charge a minimum of 5p for the bags they provide for shopping in stores and for deliveries, but smaller shops and paper bags are not included. As a result, campaigners warn that it may not be as successful as more comprehensive bag charging schemes brought in elsewhere in the UK, such as Wales where the number of bags handed out by retailers fell by 79 per cent in the first three years. Even with the exclusions, the Government expects the scheme to reduce use of single-use shopping bags by up to 80 per cent in supermarkets, and 50 per cent on the main street. It is also expected to save £60 million ($141 million) in litter clean-up costs and generate £730 million for charity.