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Walter Palmer repeats his claim that he had no idea that the lion was ‘a known local favourite’ and says he would assist the Zimbabwean authorities
A Minnesota dentist at the centre of international storm over the illegal killing of a beloved Zimbabwean lion has written to his patients to apologise, as crowds gathered around his suburban practice calling for him to face charges.
Walter Palmer, a keen big game hunter who posts pictures of his kills on social media, is said to have paid around £32,000 for the chance to kill Cecil, a protected 13-year-old lion famous for his majestic black-fringed mane, in Zimbabwe’s Hwange national park earlier this month.
The lion was reportedly lured outside the park’s boundaries and wounded with a bow and arrow, before being shot dead many hours later.
In the letter to his patients at River Bluff Dental, reported by WCCO radio, the dentist said he was sorry for killing the famous beast, but described hunting as his passion.
“I don’t often talk about hunting with my patients because it can be a divisive and emotionally charged topic,” he wrote. “I understand and respect that not everyone shares the same views on hunting.”
Repeating his claim made in an earlier statement, Palmer said he had no idea the lion he killed was “a known local favourite” and said he would assist the Zimbabwean authorities.
“The media interest in this matter – along with a substantial number of comments and calls from people who are angered by this situation and by the practice of hunting in general – has disrupted our business and our ability to see our patients,” he wrote, adding that he would work with patients to have them referred to other practices.
Palmer, 55, has not been charged with any offence, although Zimbabwean officials have said they would like to question him. The US Fish and Wildlife Service was investigating whether any US laws were violated in the lion’s killing and would assist Zimbabwean officials, a spokeswoman told Reuters.
Zimbabwean hunter Theo Bronkhorst has been charged with “failing to prevent an illegal hunt” after he organised the expedition. His co-accused Honest Ndlovu was charged with allowing an illegal hunt on his land. Both have been bailed.
About 200 people protested on Wednesday outside Palmer’s suburban Minneapolis dental office, calling for him to be extradited to Zimbabwe to face charges.
“Walter, you are a murderer, you are a terrorist,” said Rachel Augusta, coordinator at the Animal Rights Coalition which organised the protest.
Police are investigating threats made against Palmer, but because most were online, authorities are having determining if the threats are credible.
Palmer’s current location is unknown. A small memorial of stuffed animals has been placed outside the clinic’s door, with signs saying “Rot in Hell” and “Palmer there is a deep cavity waiting for you!”
The governor of Minnesota, Mark Dayton, weighed in to criticise Palmer. “It’s an iconic lion,” Dayton told reporters. “To lure the animal out of the preserve, I don’t understand how anybody thinks that’s a sport. I just think it is horrible.”
Palmer has been under official scrutiny for his hunting in the past, pleading guilty in 2008 to lying about a black bear hunt in Wisconsin two years earlier, for which he was fined and sentenced to one year’s probation.
Walter Palmer, a keen big game hunter who posts pictures of his kills on social media, is said to have paid around £32,000 for the chance to kill Cecil, a protected 13-year-old lion famous for his majestic black-fringed mane, in Zimbabwe’s Hwange national park earlier this month.
The lion was reportedly lured outside the park’s boundaries and wounded with a bow and arrow, before being shot dead many hours later.
In the letter to his patients at River Bluff Dental, reported by WCCO radio, the dentist said he was sorry for killing the famous beast, but described hunting as his passion.
“I don’t often talk about hunting with my patients because it can be a divisive and emotionally charged topic,” he wrote. “I understand and respect that not everyone shares the same views on hunting.”
Repeating his claim made in an earlier statement, Palmer said he had no idea the lion he killed was “a known local favourite” and said he would assist the Zimbabwean authorities.
“The media interest in this matter – along with a substantial number of comments and calls from people who are angered by this situation and by the practice of hunting in general – has disrupted our business and our ability to see our patients,” he wrote, adding that he would work with patients to have them referred to other practices.
Palmer, 55, has not been charged with any offence, although Zimbabwean officials have said they would like to question him. The US Fish and Wildlife Service was investigating whether any US laws were violated in the lion’s killing and would assist Zimbabwean officials, a spokeswoman told Reuters.
Zimbabwean hunter Theo Bronkhorst has been charged with “failing to prevent an illegal hunt” after he organised the expedition. His co-accused Honest Ndlovu was charged with allowing an illegal hunt on his land. Both have been bailed.
About 200 people protested on Wednesday outside Palmer’s suburban Minneapolis dental office, calling for him to be extradited to Zimbabwe to face charges.
“Walter, you are a murderer, you are a terrorist,” said Rachel Augusta, coordinator at the Animal Rights Coalition which organised the protest.
Police are investigating threats made against Palmer, but because most were online, authorities are having determining if the threats are credible.
Palmer’s current location is unknown. A small memorial of stuffed animals has been placed outside the clinic’s door, with signs saying “Rot in Hell” and “Palmer there is a deep cavity waiting for you!”
The governor of Minnesota, Mark Dayton, weighed in to criticise Palmer. “It’s an iconic lion,” Dayton told reporters. “To lure the animal out of the preserve, I don’t understand how anybody thinks that’s a sport. I just think it is horrible.”
Palmer has been under official scrutiny for his hunting in the past, pleading guilty in 2008 to lying about a black bear hunt in Wisconsin two years earlier, for which he was fined and sentenced to one year’s probation.
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