The nation of Zimbabwe will not prosecute American dentist Walter Palmer for killing its most prized lion. A cabinet minister said there would be no prosecution because Palmer obtained legal authority to conduct the hunt.
Environment Minister Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri said:
“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.”
Minister Muchinguri-Kashiri added that Palmer is still free to visit Zimbabwe as a tourist, but not as a hunter. The implication being that he would not be issued the permits a hunter must possess.
Even though Palmer has been cleared in the killing of Cecil, two others do face charges in the death. Theo Bronkhorst, who is a professional hunter in Zimbabwe, has been charged with violating hunting rules in connection with the hunt during which Cecil was killed. Additionally, a game park owner is charged with allowing an illegal hunt. Both have repeatedly denied the charges.
Palmer, who practices dentistry in Minnesota, has said the hunt was legal and no one in the hunting party realized the targeted lion was Cecil, a well-known tourist attraction in the park. The dentist could not be reached for comment on the environment minister’s statement to reporters.
It does, however, seem shameful that it is the least bit legal under either Zimbabwean or American law for a hunter to travel from the United States and kill an animal as majestic as a lion. What is the reason for such an expedition, other than pure human vanity? Dr. Palmer may be walking away from any legal problems, but it is my personal hope that his practice will suffer greatly and that he will be haunted by what he has done for the rest of his days.
Animals are not here purely for our pleasure or to appease the greed and desire for sick entertainment that some gain from hunting them.
Featured image by Flickr, available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial license.
