Hunter in hiding after lion is killed

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) called for him to be hanged.

Online, hundreds have called for him to be skinned alive while celebrities joined in their condemnation.

American Walter James Palmer was in hiding last night after the dentist was named as the man who killed Cecil the lion. A local charity claims Cecil took 40 hours to die after being shot by an arrow and was skinned and beheaded, with the head taken as a trophy for Dr Palmer.

“Hunting is a coward’s pastime,” said PETA president Ingrid Newkirk in the statement. “If, as has been reported, this dentist and his guides lured Cecil out of the park with food so as to shoot him on private property, because shooting him in the park would have been illegal, he needs to be extradited, charged, and, preferably, hanged.”

Two Zimbabweans arrested for illegally hunting the protected lion appeared in court as anger at the kill by the American escalated.

The two men – a professional hunter and a farm owner – are accused of helping Palmer hunt the lion.

Zimbabwean police said they are looking for Mr Palmer, who reportedly paid $50,000 (€45,500) to track and kill the animal.

Mr Palmer, who lives in the Minneapolis suburb of Eden Prairie, said in a statement that he was unaware the lion was protected, relying on local guides to ensure a legal hunt.

“I had no idea that the lion I took was a known, local favourite, 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,” Mr Palmer said in statement through a public relations firm.

Social media – for example on Twitter under cecilthelion – was also filled with condemnation of the killing of the black-maned lion just outside Hwange national park in Zimbabwe.

The two Zimbabwean men appeared at Hwange magistrates’ court, about 435 miles west of the capital Harare, to face poaching charges.

Defence lawyer Givemore Muvhiringi says the proceedings were delayed by several hours because prosecutors are “making their assessments”. If convicted, the men face up to 15 years in prison in Zimbabwe.

The professional hunter who allegedly acted as Mr Palmer’s guide has been stripped of his licence while he faces criminal charges, the Zimbabwe National Parks and Wildlife Authority and the Safari Operators Association said in a joint statement.

The farm owner also facing criminal charges did not have a hunting permit, the joint statement said.

According to US court records, Mr Palmer pleaded guilty in 2008 to making false statements to the US Fish and Wildlife Service about a black bear he fatally shot in western Wisconsin.

Mr Palmer had a permit to hunt but shot the animal outside the authorised zone in 2006, then tried to pass it off as being killed elsewhere, according to court documents. He was given one-year probation and fined nearly $3,000.

Cecil was being studied by an Oxford University research programme.

Palmer is believed to have returned to the US after the hunt earlier this month.

The lion’s death has provoked global outrage and a tide of online abuse.

“Nothing in this world would give me greater pleasure than to see your head mounted on a wall, your carcass defiled, degraded and paraded as you did to Cecil and near countless other animals,” said one person on his practice’s Facebook page.

Celebrities have also condemned the hunt, with Sharon Osborne writing: “I hope that #WalterPalmer loses his home, his practice & his money. He has already lost his soul.”

A makeshift memorial began forming outside his shuttered office as people outraged by the story dropped off stuffed animals and flowers, according to images from local media.

The online outrage was intense and by late afternoon, there were nearly 100,000 tweets with the hashtag #CecilTheLion, while an online petition demanding justice for Cecil had drawn 95,000 signatures.

Comedian Ricky Gervais, who has targeted trophy hunters with his barbs, was among those who expressed their disgust.

“It’s not for food. It’s not the shooting, or tin cans would do. It must just be the thrill of killing. Mental,” Gervais tweeted.