Minneapolis: US police are investigating reports of a threat against a dentist who killed Zimbabwe’s most famous lion just outside a national wildlife preserve, sparking a global firestorm of hate messages on social media.
Demonstrators were gathering outside the suburban Minneapolis office of Walter Palmer, 55, an avid big game hunter, who said in a statement he regrets killing the huge cat known as Cecil on July 1. He said he had hired professional local guides who secured hunting permits and believed the hunt was legal.
Cecil the lion's killer identified as an American dentist http://t.co/TmstGORrQw #CecilTheLion pic.twitter.com/AT3Jm4HLXd
— Mashable (@mashable) July 28, 2015
All animals go to heaven. Not so sure about humans. #CecilTheLion pic.twitter.com/m8Rdx6xWzF
— Ulrich J van Vuuren (@UlrichJvV) July 29, 2015
Palmer had temporarily closed his office, River Bluff Dental, in Bloomington, Minnesota, amid wishes for his death and widespread criticism of his hunting on social media and under business reviews on Google and Yelp.
Cecil, a distinctive black-maned lion, was lured out of Hwange National Park using a bait and was wounded with a bow and arrow, and not shot dead until 40 hours later.
Bloomington Police, who have stepped up patrols around the office, are investigating a phoned-in threat, Deputy Chief Mike Hartley said.
“A terrorist threats report related to this incident was taken by our police department yesterday and will be investigated like any other similar offence report,” Hartley said in an email.
The Minneapolis-based Animal Rights Coalition said a protest was planned on Wednesday at the office, where a small memorial of stuffed animals was placed at the building entrance.
Women add signs to the door outside Walter Palmer’s dental office. (AP Photo)
Stuffed animals are placed in front of Walter Palmer’s dental practice. (AP Photo)
A Zimbabwean court ealier charged a professional hunter with failing to prevent Walter from unlawfully killing the lion.
Local hunter Theo Bronkhorst appeared in a courthouse in Hwange, 800km west of Harare, and was charged with “failing to supervise, control and take reasonable steps to prevent an unlawful hunt”.
He pleaded not guilty to the charge and was set free after posting $1,000 bail and depositing his passport with the court. He will return to court on August 5 for trial.
Game park owner Honest Ndlovu, who is also accused of assisting Palmer, was not charged on Wednesday and parks officials said he would first testify for the state and be charged later.
While Bronkhorst appeared in court in Zimbabwe, Palmer, who is accused of killing Cecil with a bow and arrow, was being pilloried on the Internet, with many people wishing him dead.
Professional hunter Theo Bronkhorst appears at Hwange magistrates’ court to face poaching charges. (AP Photo)
“This is disgusting. I hope you get thrown in a cage with hungry lions,” Julie Lu wrote on the Facebook page of his dental practice.
Palmer said on Tuesday he had hired professional guides who secured hunting permits and deeply regretted taking the lion. He added that he had not been contacted by authorities in Zimbabwe or the US and would assist in any inquiries.
The Zimbabwe police and government have not commented.
If found guilty, Bronkhorst could be fined $20,000 and possibly jailed for up to 10 years.
Cecil was fitted with a GPS collar for a research project by scientists from Oxford University and was one of the oldest and most famous in Zimbabwe.
The university’s Wildlife Conservation Research Unit said it had been tracking Cecil since 2008 and was “deeply saddened” by his death.
“Insofar as this happened illegally we consider it deeply reprehensible,” it said in a statement. It was working closely with Zimbabwe’s National Parks authorities to support their “meticulous work” in prosecuting the case.
The unit also said Cecil’s death would be likely to trigger a power struggle in the pride, resulting in the death of other male lions as well as Cecil’s offspring.
“When a male lion is killed, because of the way their society works, a likely consequence is the overthrow and death of other adult male members of his weakened coalition, and the subsequent infanticide of his cubs,” it said.
Palmer’s hunting has attracted scrutiny in the past. In 2008, he pleaded guilty to lying to a US wildlife agent about a black bear he killed in Wisconsin two years before.
He was accused of killing it 40 miles outside a permitted zone, hauling the carcass back into the approved area and certifying falsely that it was killed there. He was sentenced to one year probation and fined $2,938.
In the Hwange case, Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force chairman Johnny Rodrigues said Cecil was lured out of the park with bait before being shot.
The incident has triggered fierce debate over the commercial ‘trophy’ hunting of African big game.
Mark Balma works on a mural of Cecil the lion outside Dr Walter James Palmer’s dental office in Bloomington, Minneapolis, on Wednesday. (AP Photo)
Like many countries, Zimbabwe issues annual permits that allow foreign hunters to kill wildlife such as elephant, buffalo and lion legally, arguing that the funds raised allow the government to fund conservation efforts.
“Sustainable trophy hunting is part of well-managed wildlife conservation. It creates incentives for people to look after wildlife,” said Adri Kitshoff, chief executive of the Professional Hunters’ Association of South Africa.
“It’s easy to fall into the trap of emotions and not focus on facts.”
However, Edward Bourke, chairman of the Australia-based Saving The Lion Foundation, said Cecil’s death showed the dangers of legal hunting.
“There is enough global pressure to push for change. There is an opportunity to offer alternatives, including international aid for establishing safe haven environments like national parks or eco-tourism zones,” he said.