Walter Palmer Murdered Cecil the Lion with a Bow and Arrow then Decapitated and Skinned Him

Walter Palmer paid $50,000 to hunt and kill Cecil with a bow and arrow. After luring Cecil outside the boundaries of the protected reserve using a dead animal as bait. Palmer shot Cecil with a bow and arrow but this shot didn’t kill him,ikikkñluk “They tracked him down and found him 40 hours later when they shot him with a gun.

This is a photo of beautifully handsome and kind Cecil, you will be missed, your death will not be in vain.  You will go down in history boy.

Please sign the petition to bring justice. 

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/821/738/351/demand-justice-for-cecil-the-lion-in-zimbambwe/

Walter Palmer Home: 11413 Landing Rd, Eden Prairie, MN 55347-4951; Phone 952-884-5361; Vacation Home: 941 SCOTT DR, MARCO ISLAND, FL 34145-5981. This is their ACTIVE e-mail… info@riverbluffdental.com

An American dentist has been identified as the hunter who allegedly killed Zimbabwe’s “iconic” lion.

The animal, named Cecil, was lured from a national park and shot with a crossbow, before being tracked for 40 hours and then shot with a gun, according to Johnny Rodrigues, head of the Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force.

The 13-year-old lion was then decapitated and skinned.

The task force claim that Walter Palmer, a dentist from Minnesota, allegedly paid park guides $50,000 (£32,000) to kill the lion, who was a hugely popular attraction at the Hwange National Park.

Mr Palmer, 55, told his local newspaper The Star Tribune that “some things are being misreported” and he is preparing to make a statement later today.

The Zimbabwe Professional Hunters and Guides Association (ZPHGA) accepted in a Facebook post that one of its members, Theo Bronkhorst, was also involved in the hunt.

Bronkhorst, a professional hunter with Bushman Safaris, is charged with illegally killing the animal along with the owner of the land that borders the park, Honest Trymore Ndlovu.

Both men are due to appear in court on Wednesday and if convicted face up to 15 years in prison.

The ZPHGA has confirmed that Bronkhorst’s membership has since been suspended indefinitely: “ZPHGA in the follow up of the investigation concludes that in regarding the responsibility of his membership, the professional hunter is in violation of the ethics of ZPHGA.

“ZPHGA re-iterates it will not tolerate any illegal hunting or any unethical practices by any of its members and their staff”.

Animals are often tempted away from the protection of their parks so that they can be killed ‘legally’, although the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority, who are responsible for issuing hunting permits and quotas, insist Cecil was killed illegally.

They said: “The killing of the lion was illegal since the land owner was not allocated a lion on his hunting quota for 2015. Therefore, all persons implicated in this case are due to appear in court facing poaching charges.”

The lion had a GPS collar for researchers at Oxford University’s Wildlife Conservation Research Unit to track its movements.

Attempts to destroy the collar were unsuccessful, which was how the animal was found.

The research unit’s founding director, David Macdonald, said: “It’s not many months ago that I watched Cecil with my hand on my heart as he strayed toward a hunting concession.

“On that occasion he turned back into the protection of the park, but this time he made a fatal mistake and I feel deeply sad, personally.”

Mr Rodrigues added that now that Cecil is dead, the next lion in the hierarchy, Jericho, will most likely kill all Cecil’s cubs so that he can insert his own bloodline into the females, which is standard procedure for lions.

The following is from the Heavy ~source http://heavy.com/news/2015/07/walter-palmer-minnesota-dentist-hunter-killed-cecil-the-lion-dead-shot-zimbabwe-illegal-arrested-photos-video-cubs-theo-bronchorst-trymore-ndlovu/

A dentist from Minnesota is accused of paying $50,000 to hunt down and kill a famed lion in Zimbabwe.

“Cecil the lion” was killed in early July, authorities said. A spokesman for the dentist, Dr. Walter Palmer, told The Guardian that Palmer, 55, may have shot the lion.

“What he’ll tell you is that he had the proper legal permits and he had hired several professional guides, so he’s not denying that he may be the person who shot this lion. He is a big-game hunter; he hunts the world over,” Palmer’s spokesman told The Guardian in a statement.

Palmer, of Eden Prairie, told the Minneapolis Star Tribune that he plans to dispute some of what is being said later Tuesday.

“Obviously, some things are being misreported,” he said.

A professional hunter and the land owner where the lion was killed have already been criminally charged. Police said they are looking for Palmer.

Here’s what you need to know:

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1. The Lion Was Left Skinned & Headless on the Outskirts of the National Park

Cecil was found beheaded and skinned on the outskirts of the Hwange national park, authorities said. The hunt occurred around July 6.

“They went hunting at night with a spotlight and they spotted Cecil,” Johnny Rodrigues, a spokesman for the Zimbwabe Conservation Task Force, told The Guardian. “They tied a dead animal to their vehicle to lure Cecil out of the park and they scented an area about half a kilometre from the park.”

Rodrigues said Palmer first shot Cecil with a crossbow, but it did not kill him. They then “tracked him down and found him 40 hours later” and shot him with a rifle, Rodrigues said.

The lion’s head has not been found. Cecil was originally believed to have been killed by a Spanish poacher.

The charity Lion Aid says on its website that it will be difficult to prosecute the person who paid for the hunt, because the client did what the professional hunter tells him to do.

“A client usually has no idea about the laws and regulations of the country he is hunting in – he just buys a safari and then places himself in the hands of his professional hunter guide. Finding the client could be interesting to let him tell his side of the story, but in terms of legal prosecution this person is hardly important,” Lion Aid says.

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2. Authorities Say the Professional Hunter Didn’t Have the Permit to Justify the Killing

A professional hunter and the owner of the land where Cecil was hunted are already facing criminal charges in Zimbwabe, authorities said.

“We arrested two people and now we are looking for Palmer in connection with the same case,” Charity Charamba, a police spokesperson, told The Associated Press.

Theo Bronkhorst, who was working with Bushman Safaris, was charged by Victoria Falls police on Monday for allegedly killing the collared lion on Antionette farm in Gwayi Conservancy in the Hwange district, the Zimbwabe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority said.

The land owner, Honest Trymore Ndlovu, is also facing charges.

“Ongoing investigations to date, suggest that the killing of the lion was illegal since the land owner was not allocated a lion on his hunting quota for 2015,” the Parks and Wildlife Management Authority said in a statement.

Bronkhorst and Ndlovu are set to appear in court on Wednesday, and authorities are trying to find another professional hunter, Zane Bronkhorst, who is also believed to have been involved in the hunt.

Lion Aid explains that it is legal to bait lions in Zimbabwe, to shoot them with a bow and arrow from a blind, to kill them outside a national park in a private hunting area and to kill collared lions.

“But Cecil was shot in an area not assigned a lion quota. Supposedly the bait was set for a leopard and then Cecil came along. The professional hunter, Theo Bronkhorst told his client to shoot the lion, and then the hunt became illegal,” Lion Aid says. “The professional hunter then allegedly attempted to destroy the radiocollar to hide the evidence. Allegedly the client was “furious” when he found that the lion was radiocollared. Allegedly, when a professional hunter engages a client in an area without lion quota, the lion will be listed as hunted in an area that does have quota. This could have been standard practice, but unfortunately Cecil was a well-known lion.”

“Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management as the Regulatory Authority and custodian of all wild animals in Zimbabwe issues hunting permits and hunting quota for all hunting areas in Zimbabwe so that only animals on quota are to be hunted. In this case, both the professional hunter and land owner had no permit or quota to justify the offtake of the lion and therefore are liable for the illegal hunt,” the agency said.

The lion trophy has been confiscated, the management agency said in the statement.

Bushman Safaris is a “family run safari outfit in Zimbabwe” that was founded in 1992 by Theo Bronkhorst, according to its Facebook page.

“Today with sons Zane and Jason and wife Michele we are fully established and have concessions in the north of Zimbabwe close to Victoria Falls conducting great big game safaris such as buffalo, elephant etc. We also have our own really successful hound pack with years of experience and lots of great leopard taken and being the only local houndsmen in the country.”

Several people have posted angry comments to the Bushman Safaris page. In a July 1 post, prior to the lion hunt, Bushman Safaris said, “Thanks to all who like our page.Understanding how we as hunters do far more for conservation of our wildlife than anti hunters whom probably almost 100% have never even seen or been around our wildlife.Thank you and be proud to be hunters or understanding what we do.”

Bronkhorst has denied the charges.

“It was a magnificent, mature lion. We did not know it was well-known lion,” he told The Telegraph newspaper. “I had a licence for my client to shoot a lion with a bow and arrow in the area where it was shot.

Lion Aid says, “He will likely abscond rather than face trial unless he is confident of the possible bribes he has paid to an entirely corrupt judiciary. The concession owner is allegedly related to the Zimbabwe Minister of Transport and will therefore be immune from prosecution.”

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3. Palmer Has Hunted Big Game All Over the World & Has Been in Trouble in the Past

Walter Palmer has hunted big game all over the world, according to what his spokesperson told The Guardian and photos posted online from previous hunts. Several photos showing him with dead big game animals, including a leopard, rhino and elk, were posted to the website “Trophy Hunt America.”

An album of photos on Smugmug called “Safari Connection” shows Palmer with a different dead lion in 2008.

Palmer was profiled in 2009 by the New York Times after he killed a trophy elk in California.

Palmer told the Times that he paid $45,000 to hunt at the elk habitat in 2009 and killed it with a bow and arrow. He learned how to hunt at 5.

“I don’t have a golf game,” Palmer told the Times.

In 2008, he faced prison time and eventually was placed on probation after admitting to making a false statement to a federal agent in connection with his hunt of a black bear in Wisconsin. Palmer shot a black bear in 2006 about 40 miles outside the zone where he was licensed to hunt, and then lied about it to a U.S. Fish and Wildlife agent, claiming he shot it in the correct zone.

Palmer was ordered to pay $2,938 in restitution and was placed on probation for one year, court records show.

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4. He Runs a Dental Practice & Was Previously Accused of Sexual Harassment

Dr. Walter Palmer runs the River Bluff Dental practice in Bloomington, Minnesota. Social media accounts for the dental practice and its Yelp page were flooded with angry comments and death threats.

“Weird visit. Some guy lured me into the dental chair by waving beef jerky at me,” one Yelp reviewer wrote. “Once I sat down, Dr. Palmer viciously attacked my one cavity, but was unable to hit it with the drill. Profusely bleeding from my mouth, I fled the building and wandered the surrounding woods for a day and a half. Thankfully, I didn’t bleed out. My family would’ve been killed and eaten by my neighbors. Two stars.”

Another wrote, “Beware! This dentist might end up killing you in the process of whatever dental treatment you seek. If you seek out a sociopath in a dentist – this is your guy.”

Palmer was accused in 2009 of sexual harassment by a former employee who was also a patient, according to the Pioneer Press. He settled with the Minnesota Dentistry Board and his insurer paid $127,500 to his accuser.

The woman said he made unwelcome comments about her and touched her breasts, buttocks and genitals. He denied the allegations but said he settled to “conclude the matter quickly and efficiently.”

He was also ordered to complete a jurisprudence exam and ethics course.

The dental practice’s website is offline, but a cached version says that Palmer is a general and cosmetic dentist who graduated with honors from the University of Minnesota and its dental school, completing his degree in 1987.

“Dr. Palmer has a unique talent for creating dazzling smiles that complement each individuals tooth structure, skin tone, and facial attributes,” the website says. “One very important aspect of achieving this is taking the time to really listen and hear exactly what the patient wants in their smile and any specific concerns they may have. A comprehensive patient consult is free of charge.”

Palmer, who is married with two children and is originally from North Dakota, says on the website that he “enjoys all outdoor activities.”

“Anything allowing him to stay active and observe and photography wildlife is where you will find Dr. Palmer when he is not in the office,” the website says.

Palmer did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Heavy. His office phone was disconnected. The Minneapolis Star Tribune reports that a sign outside the office directed visitors to a Minneapolis public relations firm. At least one patient showed up not knowing about the global scandal the dentist is involved in, the newspaper reported.

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5. The 13-Year-old Lion Was Well Known & ‘Never Bothered Anybody’

The 13-year-old Cecil the lion has been collared as part of an Oxford University research project the university has run since 1999 in Zimbabwe, The Guardian reports. It was a beloved figure in the Hwange park and was often photographed by tourists.

“He never bothered anybody,” Johnny Rodrigues, of the Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force, told The Telegraph. “He was one of the most beautiful animals to look at.”

The conservation task force told The Guardian that Cecil had several cubs.

“The saddest part of all is that now that Cecil is dead, the next lion in the hierarchy, Jericho, will most likely kill all Cecil’s cubs so that he can insert his own bloodline into the females,” the task force said.

“That’s how it works… it’s in the wild; it’s nature taking its course,” Rodrigues told the BBC.

“Cecil was not the first male lion enticed out of the park to be shot by trophy hunters. In fact, the research programme indicates that over the years, 74% of the male lions on the border of the National Park have been shot by hunters,” Lion Aid says on its website.