US Dentist Sought by Zimbabwean Police in Connection With Shooting of Beloved (Protected) Lion

The lion, named Cecil, lived in a protected state park.

The dentist, for his part, says he paid local guides to find a lion for him, and relied upon them to know where they were, and what laws applied, and what lion they had actually found.

It's a mess.

Cecil, who was 13, was a prized lion in Zimbabwe's Hwange National Park, where visitors reportedly sighted him frequently. A video of the animal, regal, indifferent and sleepy-eyed, has been widely disseminated.

He was a participant in a study that Oxford University in Britain was conducting, and he had been outfitted with a GPS collar.

A police official in Zimbabwe said that two Zimbabweans had been arrested in the case and that police were looking for Palmer.

The Zimbabwean guides were arrested but have been freed on bail.

I'm sure this will shock you -- the dentist is now being hunted by internet vigilantes, despite the fact that we don't know yet if his claims of innocent intent are true or not.

Two signs posted on the door of a nondescript dental office here asked passers-by to mourn the death of Cecil, a lion who was lured off his sanctuary and killed during a game hunt this month in Zimbabwe.

"WE ARE CECIL," one read; "#CatLivesMatter," read another. Nearby was a sign with a darker message for the dentist who said he killed the cat: "ROT IN HELL."

In the hours since Dr. Walter J. Palmer apologized for killing the lion, he has gone from a dentist and longtime hunting enthusiast to a villain at the center of a firestorm over the ethics of big-game trophy hunting.

...

The outrage and attention surrounding the lion’s death online caused Dr. Palmer to keep his office closed on Wednesday as he joined an ever-expanding group of people who have become targets of Internet vigilantism, facing a seemingly endless shaming until the next issue comes along.

Frequently outraged hysteric Mia Farrow of course had to tweet the man's home address, an action that even Salon has criticized. (No link; you can google if you like.)

She wasn't the only hysterical actress tweeting his personal information, either.

posted by Ace at 12:00 PM

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