Zimbabwe says Cecil the Lion hunt was definitely illegal
Parks Authority believes that the use of a bow and an arrow “was meant to conceal the illegal hunt by using a means that would not alert the rangers on patrol.” Bow and arrow hunting is also regulated by the Parks and Wildife Act, which found the hunt in direct contravention of it.
Despite belated claims by American dentist Walter Palmer and Theo Bronkhorst, the professional hunter from Bushman Safaris that killing Cecil the lion was legal, Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority, have issued a press release categorically stating the hunt was “deliberate and illegal”.
Oppah Muchinguir, the Zimbabwean Environment, Water and Climate Minister, endorsed the statement on Friday: “We want Palmer tried in Zimbabwe because he violated our laws.”
“One can conclude with confidence that Dr Palmer had a well orchestrated agenda which would tarnish the image of Zimbabwe,” the Parks Authority said, “This must be condemned in the strongest possible terms.”
Zimbabwean law enforcement officers immediately started investigating the matter on the 7th of July 2015.
It was found that Honest Trymore Ndlovu, owner of Antoinette farm on the Gwayi River Conservancy adjacent to Hwange National Park where Cecil was shot, had been issued with a hunting quota for 2015, but it excluded lions. Zimbabwean authorities received a tip-off from an informer that the professional hunter, Theo Bronkhorst “illegally connived with Ndlovu to kill the lion”, which is in violation of Section 59 of the Parks and Wildlife Act.
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