Zimbabwe hunting guide charge in killing of lion

HARARE, Zimbabwe — A hunting guide and a farm owner appeared in court Wednesday on allegations that they helped an American dentist kill a protected lion named Cecil, and the head of Zimbabwe’s safari association said the big cat was unethically lured into the kill zone and denied “a chance of a fair chase.”

The Zimbabwean men were accused of aiding Walter James Palmer, who reportedly paid $50,000 to track and kill the black-maned lion. Zimbabwe police have said they are looking for Mr. Palmer, whose exact whereabouts were unknown.

During the nighttime hunt, the men 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 it with a crossbow, injuring the cat. The wounded lion was tracked for 40 hours before Mr. Palmer fatally shot it with a gun, Mr. Rodrigues said.

A professional hunter named Theo Bronkhorst was accused of failing to “prevent an unlawful hunt.” Court documents say Mr. Bronkhorst was supervising while Mr. Palmer shot the animal.

Mr. Bronkhorst was released on $1,000 bail after appearing at the Hwange magistrate’s court, about 435 miles west of the capital, Harare, according to his defense lawyer, Givemore Muvhiringi. If convicted, Mr. Bronkhorst faces as much as 15 years in prison.

A second man, farm owner Honest Trymore Ndlovu, also appeared in court but was not charged and was released from custody, his lawyer Tonderai Makuku said.

The court documents made no mention of Mr. Palmer as a suspect.

Using bait to lure the lion is deemed unethical by the Safari Operators Association of Zimbabwe, of which Mr. Bronkhorst is a member.