American dentist who killed Cecil is let off the hook
HARARE: The professional hunter who arranged for US dentist Walter Palmer to kill Cecil the lion says he’s pleased the Zimbabwe government won’t charge his client.
And Theo Bronkhorst, who was with Palmer when he killed Cecil, says he hopes charges against him will also be dropped when he appears in court tomorrow.
Zimbabwe’s Environment Minister Oppah Muchinguri said on Monday the paperwork for Palmer’s hunt in July was in order and he was welcome to return to Zimbabwe on holiday “as a tourist but not as a hunter” .
Palmer paid R800 000 to kill a trophy lion. He shot and wounded Cecil at night with a bow and arrow on a game farm near the Hwange National Park, then returned the next morning to put the 12-year-old lion out of its misery.
Part of the fee was for Cecil’s head and skin, which were to be sent to the US to be mounted.
But the Zimbabwean police confiscated his head.
Muchinguri, then newly appointed to her post as head of Zimbabwe’s wildlife sector, described Palmer as a “foreign poacher” after Cecil’s death became public at the end of July.
She said the government would seek his extradition.
But Prosecutor-General Johannes Tomana didn’t create any charges against the US hunter.
In a swirl of emotion against Palmer after the world discovered he’d shot Cecil, the govern- ment “overreacted” with the extradition threat, according to a wildlife expert who asked not to be identified.
“No charges against him were possible in terms of the present legislation. Dr Palmer could sue for millions as his documentation was always available to prove he’d paid for the hunt using a professional hunting organisation,” he said.
Bronkhorst was charged with organising the “illegal” hunt for Palmer but asked the State to drop the charges in the Hwange Magistrate’s Court last month.
Louis Muller, chairman of Zimbabwe’s Professional Hunters and Guides Association, said the Cecil incident had cost the Zimbabwean hunting industry.
“Quite a few clients have cancelled hunts for next year, especially those who wanted lions.”
He said some regular American clients say they will not return because they fear their businesses might land up in trouble if they are seen hunting in Zimbabwe.
“They saw what happened to Dr Palmer’s business and they don’t want to take that risk,” Muller said. – Foreign Service