INTERNATIONAL NEWS - A wealthy American dentist used a bow and arrow to shoot a much-loved Zimbabwean lion called Cecil, a safari industry goup said Tuesday, amid allegations that the animal had taken 40 hours to die.
The lion, which was a popular attraction among many international visitors to the Hwange National Park, was lured outside the park’s boundaries by bait and shot earlier this month.
“The offender is a gentleman who is an American called Walter James Palmer,” Emmanuel Fundira, president of the Safari Operators Association of Zimbabwe, said at a news conference in the capital Harare.
“A lot of people travel long distances coming to Zimbabwe to enjoy our wildlife and obviously the absence of Cecil is a disaster.”
Fundira described Cecil as “almost semi-domesticated” and said that Palmer had paid about $50,000 for the hunt.
“The offender is a gentleman who is an American called Walter James Palmer,” Emmanuel Fundira, president of the Safari Operators Association of Zimbabwe, said at a news conference in the capital Harare.
“A lot of people travel long distances coming to Zimbabwe to enjoy our wildlife and obviously the absence of Cecil is a disaster.”
Fundira described Cecil as “almost semi-domesticated” and said that Palmer had paid about $50,000 for the hunt.
