Officials in Zimbabwe have confirmed that American dentist and big game hunter Walter Palmer will not be charged for killing Cecil the Lion.
In July, Environment minister Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri called for Palmer to be extradited to Zimbabwe to face charges for poaching, relying on reports that both Palmer and his guide illegally lured Cecil out of protected lands. Now, Muchinguri-Kashiri has told the media that Palmer technically did not break any laws, and that all of his hunting permits were in order.
Conservationists, however, are not convinced.
Via the Christian Science Monitor:
Local conservationists immediately condemned the announcement, maintaining that Palmer, who is a lifelong hunter, had committed a crime and should be subject to legal action, if not in Zimbabwe then in the United States.“The fact is the law was broken. We are going to get our advocates in America to actually see what they can do to bring justice to him,” said Johnny Rodrigues, the head of the task force that first reported news of Cecil’s killing.Palmer has not responded to requests for comment, but he maintained his innocence in a previous statement:”I had no idea that the lion I took was a known, local favorite, was collared and part of a study until the end of the hunt. I relied on the expertise of my local professional guides to ensure a legal hunt,” he said in July.
Palmer may be out of the woods (at least in Zimbabwe,) but guide and game park owner Theo Bronkhorst is still on the hot seat. On Thursday, Bronkhorst will head back to court where a judge will decide whether or not to drop charges tied to the allegedly illegal $50,000 hunt.
Keep in mind that the “conservationists” who are now working hard to “see what they can do” to “bring justice” to a situation fully deserving of all the air quotes we can offer are the same people who instigated a witch hunt after initial reports broadcast the death of the beloved lion.
They went after this man’s wife and family, and lashed out at trophy hunters (and businesses that catered to them.)
The very country with a claim on justice has said that no justice is to be had from prosecuting this man, and yet American social justice warriors soldier on—for what?
To satisfy their sense of moral privilege, of course.
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