Above is a picture of Cecil the lion of Zimbabwe in 2010. Thirteen years of age Cecil was born circa 2002.
Cecil lived in Hwange National Park (formerly Wankie Game Reserve). The park was founded in year 1928.
On or about July 1st, 2015 the lion known as Cecil was murdered by a dentist from Minnesota (USA) named Walter James Palmer (shown on left with glasses):
Walter Palmer’s home address is 11413 Larding Road, Eden Prairie, Minnesota 55347.
Walter Palmer was born on January 16th, 1960 and his US Passport number is 445469954.
It appears that Palmer has killed a sizable number of large animals including a white rhino in South Africa:
Palmer has (or had?) a dental practice called River Bluff Dental which is located at 10851 Rhode Island Ave S, Bloomington, Minnesota 55438, telephone number 952-884-5361.
Palmer’s website, www.riverbluffdental.com, which was up and running the day before yesterday, now displays a HTTP Error 503.
From the information available, at least at this point, it appears that Palmer and his hunting crew (including a hunter named Theo Bronkhorst) are accused of committing the following crimes:
(1) They lured (hauling a dead elephant) Cecil the lion out a sanctuary in the Hwange National Park.
(2) They killed Cecil on private property where the owner, Honest Ndlovu, did not have legal permission for hunting lions on his farm.
(3) Palmer used a bow-and-arrow to hunt the lion (and wounded Cecil with an arrow before he died the next day) and according to Zimbabwe’s Environment Minister, a woman named Oppah Muchinguri, this is against Zimbabwe’s hunting regulations.
This isn’t the first time that Minnesota dentist Walter Palmer has committed unethical and illegal actions while hunting large animals. In fact, several years ago Palmer and his hunting crew conspired to lie about an illegal kill that they made which landed them in federal court right here in the United States (United States District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin).
It appears that Palmer was convicted of federal charges (year 2008) for poaching a black bear on or about September 30th, 2006.
It appears that Palmer killed the black bear approximately 40 miles outside of the legal hunting zone (near Phillips in Price County, Wisconsin). Moreover, he attempted to cover up the crime by hauling the bear into a legal area and registering the kill there. Palmer and his hunting crew conspired together and agreed to say that the black bear was killed in Minong, Wisconsin (which is inside a legal hunting zone):
Walter Palmer Bear Hunt Court Documents 1 by tom cleary
Palmer was facing up to five (5) years in prison, a fine not to exceed $250,000.00 and a period of supervised release (similar to probation) of three (3) years.
It appears that the Court sentenced Palmer to a fine of $2938.00 and one year of probation. The plea agreement and sentencing are provide below:
walterpalmer2008-2 by tom cleary
walterpalmer2008-3 by tom cleary
The other day I signed (along with over 223,600 other people as of today’s date) a White House petition urging Secretary Of State John Kerry and Attorney General Loretta Lynch to fully cooperate with the Zimbabwe authorities and to extradite Walter Palmer promptly at the Zimbabwe government’s request:
Extradite Minnesotan Walter James Palmer to face justice in Zimbabwe.
The petition was opened on July 28th, 2015 and will close on August 27th, 2015. The required 100,000 signatures has already been collected and more than doubled in just six (6) days.
According to Reuters the judicial penalty in Zimbabwe for illegally killing a lion is a prison sentence of ten (10) years and a mandatory fine of the equivalent of $20,000.00 US dollars.
An applicable extradition treaty (signed July 25th, 1997 signed and in force as of August 26th, 2000) does exist between Zimbabwe that United States. It appears that, among others stipulations, the following criteria must be satisfied before extradition:
(1) At least one year in jail: The crime must punishable under the laws of both Zimbabwe and the United States by deprivation of liberty for a period of more than one year or by a more severe penalty
(2) Dual criminality: Must be an extraditable offense as one punishable under the laws of both Contracting States by deprivation of liberty for a period of more than one year or by a more severe penalty. Use of such a “dual criminality” clause rather than a list of offenses covered by the Treaty obviates the need to renegotiate or supplement the Treaty as additional offenses become punishable under the laws of both Contracting States.
It should be noted that dual criminality does not mean that the both countries must have identical laws. A similar law, or an entirely different law, will suffice as long as the laws are substantially analogous.
Lastly, it appears that Zimbabwe has officially started extradition proceedings. Below is a press release (provided by Reuters) from Zimbabwe’s Environment Minister, a woman named Oppah Muchinguri, regarding extradition of Walter Palmer:
We are also providing the 1997 signed (and 2000 in force) Zimbabwe International Extradition Treaty With the United States for review:
Zimbabwe International Extradition Treaty With the United States by Inspector Smith
Please exercise your free speech in the comments section below. There are no stipulations of political correctness on this blog. Speak your mind, give us your thoughts, both objective and subjective. Share your ideas, hunches, inklings or your expertise. Please provide recommendation and corrections if you spot errors in fact within the blog report. Lastly, remember that posting a comment is much like casting a vote, so please do so.
I will NEVER UNDERSTAND why people like U.S. Dentist, Walter Palmer (allegedly) wish to KILL, and especially in this case ILLEGALLY KILL, rare and interesting wild animals.
Why not embrace the challenge to ‘hunt’ these amazing creatures with high-resolution, high-tech cameras instead of guns or bows, and thus PRESERVE THEM FOREVER for viewing by themselves and their acquaintances, on-screen in their natural habitat in ALL THEIR LIVING GLORY!
Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe
See especially the following minute-mark video segments, which show wonderful camera footage of LIONS in the wild at Hwange National Park:
2:18 – 2:34
3:30 – 3:54
5:36 – 5:49
Zimbabwe seeks second American ‘lion killer’
BBC
August 2, 2015
Excerpt:
Zimbabwe says it is seeking a second American over the illegal killing of a lion, as the outcry over the death of famed animal Cecil continues.
The National Parks and Wildlife Management Authority said a doctor from Pennsylvania, named as Jan Casimir Seski, killed a lion in April.
A Zimbabwean landowner has since been arrested, the agency said.
…
The Associated Press news agency says Mr Seski is a gynaecological oncologist who runs the Center for Bloodless Medicine and Surgery at Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh.
The agency called at his home, in woods outside Pittsburgh, and left a telephone message but received no response.
…
Read more at:
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-33752403
NOTE: This is a separate lion that was killed (back in April, 2015), this is not Cecil the lion (who was killed in July, 2015).
Here’s a pic of Dr. Jan Seski (who lives just outside of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) in Zimbabwe with one of six (6) elephants that he has killed. Dr. Seski is now wanted by Zimbabwe for the illegal killing of a lion which took place in April, 2015 (not Cecil the lion, a separate lion).
A company (“Grizzly Stick”) who makes the arrows that this Dr Seski used to kill this elephant offered this praise for the doctor and their brand of arrows:
This Zimbabwe elephant is the sixth African elephant shot by Dr. Jan Seski. For this hunt Jan used our custom-built GrizzlyStick Momentum UFOC 175 arrows cut to 29 inches and fletched with 4-inch DuraVanes to accommodate his finger-shooting style.
The arrows weighed 1275 grains when topped with a 315-grain AshbyBroadhead with a FOC of 29%.
Shot from an 85# Matthews Monster bow, this set-up generated 106 ft. lbs. kinetic energy.
The arrow was shot quartering into the elephant, penetrated a rib and one lung, lacerated the heart and liver, and was recovered in the gut. The elephant went a short distance and died. With results like this, no wonder Jan is a firm supporter of our Ultra-Magnum Arrow System.
https://web.archive.org/save/_embed/https://www.facebook.com/143314215703425/photos/a.233451623356350.63403.143314215703425/820813784620128/?type=1
Hang Palmer and Seski? No, no — there are better ways to punish them and, at the same time, benefit the lions’ habitat and Zimbabqwe’s economy.
Please extradite both Walter Palmer and Jan Casimir Seski, who have no respect for any laws, to Zimbabwe and make their punishment harsh enough to matter. Too often the punishment is too easy for these wealthy people who believe their wants are supreme, and choose to destroy rather than give their money to building up. When questioned, Palmer’s regular rebuttal is “I don’t have a golf game”! What a trivial remark! But it keeps him from thinkign above his pants and facing what he is.
Fines should be at least be the amount of money spent to finance the trips, (including airfare and cost of shipping trophies back to America — where, before too long, we hope to be forbidding the import of such trophies) to discourage these and other big game hunters from continuing their blood-sport. Plus each should spend at least the required year in a prison without all the luxuries they so used to. The money received should help Zimbabwe’s economy while the safari hunting grounds are slowly moved to tourist spots, and the safari-hunt places are put out of business.
If this policy of forcing wrong-doers to pay not just a small fine but the entire cost of financing a safari hunt could be set up in Zimbabwe, the country’s economy will surge and slow extinction of wildlife will definitely slow down.
In addition, not just the hunters, but the safari clubs and all the men they hire will be looking for other work. Soon, other countries will follow Zimbabwe’s lead!
It’s a policy the ZCTF might be willing to try.
>>> BRING THIS SON OF A BITCH TO ME . I HAVE A BOW WITH RAZOR ARROWS WHICH SHOULD END HIS USELESS , WASTEFUL ACTIVITIES <<<
fran farlow wrote:
I can’t speak with any authority to all the specifics covered in your post since I do not have any formal legal training or experience in the criminal justice field. However, I do agree with and applaud your general approach to sharply reducing the instances of ILLEGAL Big-Game Safari Gun and Bow Hunting, and slowly reducing the monetary significance of LEGAL Big-Game Safari Gun and Bow Hunting to the Zimbabwe economy.
That is, as a general policy, Zimbabwe should:
— (1) Extradite hunters who have violated Zimbabwe laws, enforce a significant but fair period of jail time, and institute a MAJOR INCREASE IN FINES FOR VIOLATORS.
— (2) Use the increased fines collected for illegal big-game hunting convictions to gradually reduce the significance of the the gun and bow hunting safari companies to the economy.
The following link and excerpted information may be of some help in estimating the amount of the recommended fine to be levied for a violation involving a ‘LION – Luxury Safari’. Airfare and the cost of shipping the trophy back to the U.S.A. are not included.
Link: http://www.luxuryhunts.com/zimbabwe_lion_hunt.html
Zimbabwe Hunting Safaris
10-Day Trophy Lion Safari
All inclusive of
Trophy fee, Baits included
1×1 $49,000.00
Included in safari package:
10 full days of hunting
Airport pick-up
Licenses
Trophy fee on lion
Taxes
Food, lodging and all beverages, wine and beer for duration of stay
Services of a Professional Hunter
Also vehicle, trackers, skinners, cook, daily laundry, field preparation of trophies.
Delta Airlines Bans Shipment of Big-Game Hunting Trophies Worldwide
Breitbart / Sports
AWR Hawkins
8/3/2015
Excerpt:
On August 3, Delta released a statement announcing the immediate implementation of a ban on the shipping of “lion, leopard, elephant, rhinoceros and buffalo trophies worldwide as freight.”
Delta also indicated they will re-examine “acceptance policies of other hunting trophies with appropriate government agencies and other organizations supporting legal shipments.”
Delta stressed that their policy heretofore has been a “strict” one, calling for “absolute compliance with all government regulations regarding protected species.” Their policy change comes just days after reports that Minnesota dentist Walter J. Palmer shot and killed Cecil the Lion by accident during a recent hunt in Zimbabwe.
Palmer paid approximately $50,000 to kill a lion and said he trusted his guides—Theo Bronchorst, a professional hunter, and Honest Trymore Ndlovu, a land owner—to put him on the right one. CNN reported that late night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel commented on the lion’s death while “choking up a little,” and Breitbart News reported that Sharon Osbourne tweeted that she hopes Palmer “loses his home, his [dental] practice, & his money.”
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View the complete article, including image, at:
http://www.breitbart.com/sports/2015/08/03/delta-airlines-bans-shipment-of-big-game-hunting-trophies-worldwide/
U.S. Lawmakers Draft ‘CECIL Act’ to Curb Trophy Hunters
Time
Dan Kedmey
7/31/2015
Excerpt:
It’s named for Cecil the lion
U.S. lawmakers joined the chorus of outrage over the killing of Cecil the lion on Friday, announcing a bill that would stop people from importing “trophies” gleaned from hunting potentially endangered animals.
The bill, Conserving Ecosystems by Ceasing the Importation of Large (CECIL) Animal Trophies Act, would make it illegal for trophy hunters to bring back parts of any species proposed or listed as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act of 1973.
“Let’s not be cowardly lions when it comes to trophy killings,” Senator Bob Menendez said in a public statement, adding that the legislation is “a necessary and prudent step that creates a disincentive for these senseless trophy killings and advances our commitment in leading the fight to combat global wildlife trafficking.”
The bill is co-sponsored by Senators Cory Booker, Richard Blumenthal and Ben Cardin.
The proposed legislation comes after an outpouring of rage against a Minnesota dentist who paid $55,000 to slay the lion during a hunting excursion in Zimbabwe. African lions are not considered endangered species, but last year the United States Fish and Wildlife Service proposed placing them on a list of threatened animals.
View the complete article, including video, at:
http://time.com/3981032/cecil-lion-bill-trophy-hunters/
This is turning into a ‘Confederate flag’ type immediate over reaction. If the media put half this effort into rallying the public against the Klanned Parenthood atrocities (murdering babies and selling the murdered baby parts for profit) perhaps Margaret Sanger’s dream of aborting away the ‘undesirables’ would end with prosecution of hundreds of serial killer abortionists who profit off the murder of children.
Cecil the lion’s cub killed by rival male
Death of one of Cecil’s eight cubs has raised fears for his remaining offspring, which could also be targeted by the large predatory male lion
The Telegraph
Our Foreign Staff
8/9/2015
Excerpt:
One of Cecil the lion’s cubs has reportedly been killed by a rival male who was trying to mate with his mother.
Cecil, a 13-year-old lion who was beloved by visitors and park rangers at his home in Zimbabwe, was killed last month by an American dentist on a hunting trip.
The death of one of Cecil’s eight cubs has raised fears for his remaining offspring, which could also be targeted by the large predatory male lion.
Wildlife guides warn that Cecil’s pride has only a five per cent chance of survival after several solitary male lions were spotted prowling near their abandoned den in Hwange National Park, according to the Sunday Mirror.
A source told the Mirror: “One of the eight cubs was killed by a male lion after Cecil was killed.
“Lions practise infanticide – the male looking to take over and mate with the three lionesses would have crushed the cub’s skull as he looked to stake his claim.”
The lionesses had tried to protect the cubs but can’t fend off the advances of large male lions for long, the source said.
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View the complete article, including image, at:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/zimbabwe/11792521/Cecil-the-lions-cub-killed-by-rival-male.html
Cecil the Lion: Zimbabwe Lifts Hunting Ban After Just 10 Days
NBC News
Alexander Smith
8/10/2015
Excerpt:
Zimbabwe has lifted a ban on big-game hunting after less than two weeks after the death of Cecil the lion, officials told NBC News on Monday.
The country suspended hunting on August 1 in the area surrounding Hwange National Park. This was where Cecil was killed by Minnesota dentist Walter Palmer with a bow in an incident that provoked international outrage.
Just 10 days after the moratorium was imposed, the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority said it had been be axed across most of that area.
The ban remains in place on farmland where Cecil died, as well as several other farms were officials allege animals were killed illegally, parks spokeswoman Caroline Washaya-Moyo told NBC News.
Those exceptions will be reviewed following the trial of Theo Bronkhorst, the hunter who allegedly helped 55-year-old Palmer illegally hunt the animal. Palmer said he trusted his guides and believed he had the correct permits to kill the lion.
Anyone convicted of illegal hunting would be blocked from getting permits for life, “as they tarnish the image of the hunting industry, the authority and the country at large,” Washaya-Moyo said, adding that “their actions border on economic sabotage.”
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View the complete article, including video, at:
http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/cecil-lion-zimbabwe-lifts-hunting-ban-after-just-10-days-n406971
The following comment was published August 14, 2015 in the ‘Letters to the Editor’ section of the ‘Atlanta Journal-Constitution’
Kudos to airline on big-game trophies
Delta Air Lines should be congratulated for prohibiting the transport of big-game hunting trophies (“Delta restricts hunting trophies, Business, Aug. 4) This policy change will make more people aware of the issues related to the future of the big animals in Africa.
Poachers killed 40,000 elephants last year. At that rate of killing, the wild African elephant will be extinct in 10 years. Awareness needs to be focused on this extraordinary situation, which is equally dire for the rhino as well. Poaching is, by far, the biggest threat to wild animal species on the planet. Unless we bring some new thinking and tools to the table, our children will grow up without these most iconic of animals, and humans will have sacrificed the opportunity to turn back the trend that leads some to value wild animals only when they are dead.
JOHN L. PETERSEN
CHAIRMAN, CHARLES A. & ANNE MORROW LINDBERGH FOUNDATION
——————————————–
Comment by Bruce – I have provided below a link to the Lindbergh Foundation:
http://lindberghfoundation.org/
Pictures (1/3) have recently surfaced of dentist Walter Palmer and the black bear that he illgally killed and poached in Wisconsin in year 2006:
WISCONSIN DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES
Pictures (2/3) have recently surfaced of dentist Walter Palmer and the black bear that he illgally killed and poached in Wisconsin in year 2006:
WISCONSIN DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES
Pictures (3/3) have recently surfaced of dentist Walter Palmer and the black bear that he illgally killed and poached in Wisconsin in year 2006:
WISCONSIN DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES
Air Shepherd Breakthrough to Poaching
Join us and stop the poaching of elephants and rhinos, go here now: http:www.airshepherd.org
The Charles A. and Anne Morrow Lindbergh Foundation
PeTA Made ‘Cecil’s Revenge’ Halloween Costume to Honor Cecil the Lion
Mediaite
Andrew Husband
8/28/2015
Excerpt:
Cecil the Lion fans outraged by the “Lion Killer Dentist” and “Sexy Cecil the Lion” costumes can now dress up as “Cecil’s Revenge” for Halloween, thanks to PeTA.
For the incredibly not-so-low price of $139.99, you can dress up as Dr. Walter Palmer — the man who illegally shot and killed the celebrity lion during an African safari trip. No really, you can — the costume comes with a name tag that reads, “Dr. Palmer”:
The main feature of the costume, of course, is the plush lion attached to the getup. Despite being very, very dead, Cecil’s stand-in seems to be doing a bang-up job avenging the fallen by clawing and biting into the Dr. Palmer outfit.
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View the complete article, including photo of the ‘CECIL’S REVENGE Halloween Costume’, at:
http://www.mediaite.com/online/peta-made-cecils-revenge-halloween-costume-to-honor-cecil-the-lion/
Taylor Swift – Wildest Dreams
Director hits back at critics of Taylor Swift’s African video
Yahoo News / Canada
Reporting by Jill Serjeant; Editing by Sandra Maler and Peter Cooney
9/2/2015
Excerpt:
NEW YORK (Reuters) – The director of Taylor Swift’s new music video set in Africa struck back on Wednesday at mounting criticism of the scarcity of black people in the mini-film and its romanticized portrayal of the continent.
“Wildest Dreams,” a love story filmed against a backdrop of giraffes, lions, waterfalls and stunning sunsets, has been viewed more than 15 million times since it was released on Monday to accompany the American pop superstar’s latest single.
Although Swift is donating all proceeds to the African Parks Foundation of America, critics have seized on the video as portraying a stereotyped colonial-era view of Africa.
“So thank you, Taylor Swift, for proving once again that African stereotypes are safe atop the pinnacle of American pop culture,” wrote Matt Carotenuto, who teaches African studies at New York state’s St. Lawrence University, in an article on Wednesday on Salon.com.
Director Joseph Kahn said the “Wildest Dreams” video depicted a love story on the set of a period film in Africa in 1950.
Kahn said there were black Africans in the video in background shots but that it would have been “historically inaccurate to load the crew with more black actors as the video would have been accused of rewriting history.” He also noted that the video’s producer, Jil Hardin, and editor Chancler Haynes are both African-American.
“There is no political agenda in the video. Our only goal was to tell a tragic love story in classic Hollywood iconography,” Kahn said in a statement.
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View the complete article, including image at:
https://ca.news.yahoo.com/director-hits-back-critics-taylor-swifts-african-video-181556500.html
The above-cited Taylor Swift video reminds me of the photo shown on the 10/22/2011 post by Lucas, titled: “Stanley Ann Dunham Goes to Kenya”
http://www.wasobamaborninkenya.com/blog/barrack-obama-eligibility/stanley-ann-dunham-goes-to-kenya/
From the 1987 movie “White Mischief”
Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Mischief_%28film%29
Image Credits:
Vogue photo by Arthur Elgort
Dentist who killed Cecil the lion takes potshots at social media
MarketWatch
Barbara Kollmeyer, Markets reporter
9/7/2015
An American dentist who became infamous for felling Cecil, a beloved African lion, has come out swinging against commentators on social media as he gets ready to return to work.
In his first interview since the July safari hunt, Walter J. Palmer said he and his party would have never stalked and killed the 13-year-old lion had they realized it was a “known, local favorite.”
Palmer said he regretted what happened, but said that he had relied on his guides to “ensure a legal hunt,” speaking in a joint interview with the Minneapolis Star Tribune and the Associated Press on Sunday. He added that the tracking device the animal was wearing couldn’t be seen at night.
Accompanied in the brief interview by a well-known defense attorney from the Twin Cities and a public relations consultant, and refusing photos or a video, Palmer said he would go back to work this week.
The dentist denied that he has been in hiding, but rather has kept a low profile due to fears for the safety of his family. “They’ve been threatened in the social media, and again … I don’t understand that level of humanity to come after people not involved at all,” he said.
The public outrage against Palmer has been huge. While some say it is unlikely to happen, Zimbabwean officials have said they want the dentist extradited to face charges. A petition asking the White House to extradite the Minnesotan had 235,911 signatures as of Monday. The petition only needed 100,000 as of late August to get a response from President Obama’s administration.
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View the complete article, including image, at:
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/dentist-who-killed-cecil-the-lion-takes-potshots-at-social-media-2015-09-07
Zimbabwe will not charge U.S. dentist for killing Cecil the lion
Reuters
HARARE | By MacDonald Dzirutwe
10/12/2015
Excerpt:
Zimbabwe will not charge American dentist Walter Palmer for killing its most prized lion in July because he had obtained legal authority to conduct the hunt, a Cabinet minister said on Monday, angering conservationists.
Palmer, a lifelong big-game hunter from Minnesota, touched off a global controversy when he killed Cecil, a rare black-maned lion, with a bow and arrow outside Hwange National Park in Western Zimbabwe.
Environment Minister Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri said on Monday that Palmer’s hunting papers were in order, and therefore he could not be charged.
“We approached the police and then the prosecutor general, and it turned out that Palmer came to Zimbabwe because all the papers were in order,” Muchinguri-Kashiri told reporters.
Muchinguri-Kashiri said Palmer would be free to visit Zimbabwe as a tourist in the future but not as a hunter. The implication was that Palmer would not be issued the permits a hunter needs.
The environment minister’s comments immediately drew the ire of the animal conservation group Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force, which maintained that Palmer had committed a crime and said it planned to pursue legal action against him in the United States.
Palmer could not be reached for comment on the environment minister’s statement to reporters.
The 55-year-old dentist had closed his practice in late July after he was publicly identified as the hunter who killed Cecil, drawing widespread criticism on social media and a large demonstration by animal rights advocates at his office in Bloomington, Minnesota, a Minneapolis suburb.
The practice reopened in mid-August without him. Palmer returned to work in early September to a handful of protesters and some public support from patients.
“The fact is the law was broken,” said Johnny Rodrigues, the head of the Zimbabwe task force, which first reported news of Cecil’s killing. “We are going to get our advocates in America to actually see what they can do to bring justice to him.”
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has said it was investigating the killing of the lion.
Two more people still face charges related to Cecil’s killing. Both allegedly were involved in using bait to lure the lion out of his habitat in Hwange National Park so he could be killed.
Theo Bronkhorst, a professional hunter in Zimbabwe, is charged with breaching hunting rules in connection with the hunt in which Cecil was killed. A game park owner is also charged with allowing an illegal hunt. Both have denied the charges.
Bronkhorst is expected to appear on Thursday in a Hwange court where a magistrate will rule on a request by his lawyers that his indictment be quashed.
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View the complete article, including image, at:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/10/12/us-zimbabwe-wildlife-dentist-idUSKCN0S61G320151012
Biggest elephant killed in Africa for almost 30 years brings back memories of Cecil the lion
Exclusive: German hunter pays nearly £40,000 to shoot one of the largest elephants ever seen in Zimbabwe, while conservationists and safari guides mourn the loss of ‘magnificent’ animal
The Telegraph
By Peta Thornycroft, and Aislinn Laing in Johannesburg
10/16/2015
Excerpt:
It is an image that will haunt conservationists: one of Africa’s most majestic creatures lying dead on the ground as a white Western hunter poses proudly by its side.
Barely three months after the shooting of Cecil the lion caused global outrage, a German hunter has risked the wrath of animal lovers once more by shooting dead one of the largest elephants ever seen in Zimbabwe.
Mystery surrounded the identity of the elephant, which was estimated to have been between 40 and 60 years old, but had never been seen before in Zimbabwe’s southern Gonarezhou National Park.
But its tusks, which touch the ground in a photograph taken moments after its shooting, confirmed its exceptional nature, weighing an estimated 120lb each.
It was shot on October 8 in a private hunting concession bordering Gonarezhou by a hunter who paid $60,000 (£39,000) for a permit to land a large bull elephant and was accompanied by a local, experienced professional hunter celebrated by the hunting community for finding his clients large elephants.
The German national, who the hunt’s organisers have refused to name, had travelled to Zimbabwe to conduct a 21-day game hunt including species among the Big Five of elephants, leopards, lions, buffalo and rhinoceros.
The kill was celebrated in hunting forums around the world, where it was suggested he might have been the biggest elephant killed in Africa for almost 30 years.
Conservationists and photographic safari operators in the area expressed their outrage on Thursday night, saying the animal was one of a kind and should have been preserved for all to see.
Anthony Kaschula, who operates a photographic safari firm in Gonarezhou, posted pictures of the hunt on Facebook, said the elephant had never been seen in the area before but would have been celebrated by visitors and locals alike.
“We have no control over poaching but we do have control over hunting policy that should acknowledge that animals such as this one are of far more value alive (to both hunters and non-hunters) than dead,” he wrote.
“Individual elephants such as these should be accorded their true value as a National Heritage and should be off limits to hunting. In this case, we have collectively failed to ensure that legislation is not in place to help safeguard such magnificent animals.”
View the complete article, including video and images, at:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/zimbabwe/11934535/Huge-tusked-African-elephant-killed-by-german-hunter-in-Zimbabwe.html
Lion turns the tables on illegal hunters by killing man looking to shoot him
Express
Rob Virtue
10/28/2015
Excerpt:
Authorities reported a group of five men hunting without licences was attacked by the big cat at a private game farm near the Kruger.
Matome Mahlale, 24,was killed along with two dogs, who were accompanying the group.
Local police spokesman Colonel Ronel Otto said: “Three men managed to climb into a tree and another managed to escape, but the deceased and two dogs were mauled to death.”
A local said: “There won’t be many people feeling sorry for him. This is seen as poetic justice for the death of Cecil.”
Cecil was a Southwest African lion who lived in the Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe, which borders South Africa where the killer lion attacked the hunter.
Cecil was wounded with an arrow by Walter Palmer, an American recreational big-game hunter, and approximately 40 hours later, killed with a rifle. He was 13 years old when he was shot dead.
The killing caused mass outrage across the globe.
Earlier this month it was revealed Mr Palmer will not be charged by Zimbabwean authorities over the killing.
The government said it would not prosecute the dentist as “all the papers were in order”.
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View the complete artice, including images, at:
http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/615091/Lion-turns-the-table-on-illegal-hunters-by-killing-man-looking-to-shoot-him
Move over New York Marathon, Kenya’s marathon is in the Mara
Kenyans Sweep New York City Marathon