Cecil hunter becomes the hunted

An undated handout photo shows Cecil, one of Zimbabwe's most famous lions, who was reportedly shot dead by US hunter Walter Palmer. Picture: Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority

An undated handout photo shows Cecil, one of Zimbabwe's most famous lions, who was reportedly shot dead by US hunter Walter Palmer. Picture: Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority

Published Jul 29, 2015

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Johannesburg - The furore over the killing of Zimbabwe’s, and now probably the world’s, most famous lion - Cecil - continues with the US dentist who shot it with a bow and arrow himself being hunted.

So broad is the outrage that Walter Palmer has deactivated his Facebook page as an online petition of over 77 000 people called “Justice for Cecil” circulates and calls on the Zimbabwean government to stop issuing hunting permits to kill endangered animals.

Palmer is said to have paid the equivalent of R706 600 in dollars to shoot 13-year-old Cecil with a bow and arrow. The lion was the star attraction in Zimbabwe’s Hwange National Park.

Palmer, from Minnesota, had a permit to kill a lion, but only outside the reserve and in daylight.

It appears Cecil was lured out of the park with a dead animal and shot in darkness, according to Johnny Rodrigues of the Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force.

Palmer, who boasts of being able to skewer a playing card with his bow from 90m, initially wounded Cecil with an arrow.

It took him and his guide, Theo Bronkhorst, 40 hours to track down the beast and kill him with a gun. Rodrigues said the lion was wearing a GPS collar as part of an Oxford University tracking project.

Bronkhorst and the owner of the land where Cecil was shot are scheduled to appear in court next month on poaching charges.

Zimbabwe police say they also want to speak to Palmer, who is 55.

His practice in Bloomington was closed for business on Tuesday. The father of two has been deluged with hate mail, with critics saying they would like to see his “head mounted on a wall”.

The dentist, who has killed leopards, buffalo, moose and even a white rhino, claims he had the right permits. In 2008, he was sentenced to probation for lying to US officials over where he had killed a black bear.

There was also a sexual harassment claim against him in 2009. Palmer paid $127 500 to a former receptionist who claimed he made unwelcome comments, as well as inappropriate contact with her breasts, buttocks and genitals.

Palmer denied the allegations and said he made the payment to settle the matter quickly and efficiently.

The online tirade about the killing of Cecil follows the 2013 killing of a lion in this country by Melissa Bachman who posed, smiling, with the lion she killed.

Such was the anger at the time that over 500 000 people signed a Facebook petition against her.

This latest incident will give further pause to the Professional Hunters Association of South Africa (Phasa) which is already reconsidering its position on lion hunting.

Phasa president Hermann Meyeridricks said this morning while he had not investigated the Cecil case fully: “It has become clear to me that those against the hunting of lions bred in captivity are no longer just small, vociferous groups of animal rights activists.

“Broader society is no longer neutral on this question and the tide of public opinion is turning strongly against this form of hunting, however it is termed. Even within our own ranks, and in the hunting fraternity as a whole, respected voices are speaking out against it,” he said.

Meyeridricks said he had sent a letter to association members on July 24 saying the campaign against trophy hunting had intensified around canned or captive-bred lion hunting since its current policy on lion hunting was adopted at its annual general meeting in November 2013.

“We took the view at the time that our position was a stepping stone to clean up the captive-bred lion hunting industry and made it clear it was certainly not our final decision on the hunting of lions,” he said.

Given the fact that several air- and shipping lines were now refusing to transport hunted trophies, Phasa had to face the fact that this hunting issue was putting at risk not only the reputation of professional hunting in South Africa, but its very survival, he said.

“Phasa’s current policy is, broadly speaking, that it recognises the legality of, and demand for, captive breeding lion hunting and is working with predator breeders and government to improve standards and conditions on a generally acceptable level, but it has made little demonstrable progress.

“Against this background, I have come to believe that, as is stands, our position on lion hunting is no longer tenable. The matter will be on the agenda for our next annual general meeting,” he said.

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