ZIMBABWE-LION/NEWSER-FILE American accused of killing Zimbabwe's popular Cecil the lion

Record ID: 145931

  • Title: ZIMBABWE-LION/NEWSER-FILE American accused of killing Zimbabwe's popular Cecil the lion
  • Date: 28th July 2015
  • Summary: HARARE, ZIMBABWE (JULY 28, 2015)(REUTERS) SAFARI OPERATORS PRESIDENT, EMANUEL FUNDIRA SEATED AT TOP TABLE (SOUNDBITE) (English) SAFARI OPERATORS ASSOCIATION OF ZIMBABWE PRESIDENT, EMANUEL FUNDIRA, SAYING: "We lost an icon, a lion, a male lion, which was popularly known and endeared as Cecil. Cecil was collared, you may want to know what that means, collared is an animal which is under surveillance, under a GPS system which is being used for research and different things". AUDIENCE LISTENING (SOUNDBITE) (English) SAFARI OPERATORS ASSOCIATION OF ZIMBABWE PRESIDENT, EMANUEL FUNDIRA, SAYING: "The client or the person involved or the offender is a gentleman, an American called James Walter Palmer. Walter James Palmer is the guy who came into the country around the beginning of this month of July, and was enticed, we are not quite sure yet, to harvest this particular lion. The proper market value for this lion, which is a big treasure, will be around 100,000 U.S. dollars. Information so far received shows that there was money that was exchanged to the tune of 55,000 U.S. dollars." MORE OF AUDIENCE LISTENING
  • Embargoed: 12th August 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Zimbabwe
  • Country: Zimbabwe
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA1PQERR8EQUAF2SDLLWBNTPVU9
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Safari Operators Association of Zimbabwe and wildlife officials on Tuesday (July 28) said a U.S tourist has killed one of the oldest and most famous lions in Zimbabwe.
    Association president Emanuel Fundira told reporters that Walter James Palmer from the U.S. paid $55,000 to kill the 13-year-old lion called Cecil.
    "We lost an icon, a lion, a male lion, which was popularly known and endeared as Cecil," Fundira told said at a news conference in Harare.
    "The client or the person involved or the offender is a gentleman, an American called James Walter Palmer. Information so far received shows that there was money that was exchanged to the tune of 55,000 US dollars," he added.
    The chairman of Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force (ZCTF), told reporters that Palmer paid $50,000 to two people, Zimbabwean hunter Theo Bronkhorst and Honest Ndlovu, a private game park owner, who lured the lion out of Hwange National Park using a bait. The lion was later shot by Palmer with a crossbow, Johnny Rodrigues said.
    Both Zimbabweans will face poaching charges on Wednesday (July 29) in Hwange for the killing of the lion on July 1, Rodriguez added.
    Palmer, who U.S. media reports said was a dentist from Minnesota, was not immediately available for comments.
    American's whereabouts were not immediately known but Cecil's head and skin were recovered and would be used as evidence in court, Rodrigues said.
    Cecil was a popular attraction at the Hwange National Park and had featured in many photographic shoots.
    Lions are not protected species in Zimbabwe. If convicted, the two men would be required to pay $20,000 in compensation but the court may impose an additional jail term.
    Investigations show the killing of Cecil was illegal because the land owner was not allocated a lion on his hunting quota for 2015, Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (ZPWMA) and ZCTF said in a statement.
    Zimbabwe issues annual permits allowing foreign hunters to kill wildlife like the elephant, buffalo and lion, saying this allows it to raise money for conservation.
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