(Bloomberg) — Zimbabwe suspended all wildlife hunting in the country as officials investigated the death of Cecil the lion, shot in July outside Hwange National Park.
The government is “directing all those in currently in the field to stop their hunting activities and withdraw,” Zimbabwean Environment Secretary Prince Mupazviriho said in an e-mailed statement today.
The move comes amid global protests at the death of Cecil, who was a draw for tourists at the nation’s biggest animal sanctuary. Theo Bronkhorst, a professional hunter, appeared in a Zimbabwe court last week, accused of helping Minnesota dentist Walter Palmer hunt the lion. Cecil was wounded with a crossbow before being shot with a gun then skinned and beheaded.
“It has become necessary that the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Authority further tightens hunting regulations in all areas outside the Parks Estate,” Edson Chidziya, the authority’s director general, said yesterday.
Researchers with the parks authority told the Guardian newspaper today that reports were untrue that another male lion, Jericho, had also been shot dead by poachers in Zimbabwe.
Poaching Charges
Zimbabwe requested the extradition of Palmer to face poaching charges, while the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said it’s investigating the incident.
Zimbabwe has 2,000 lions and is allowing 70 to be hunted this year, according to the parks authority.
“The suspension is not clear. Is it for a month, or the rest of the season?” Emmanuel Fundira, chairman of Safari Operators Association of Zimbabwe, told reporters at a news conference. “It will negatively affect the season because of the cancellations.”
Cecil’s death has sparked global outrage. Animal-rights groups have called for a ban on trophy hunting, and Palmer has receiving death threats through social media and has closed his dental practice, at least temporarily.
Palmer said in a statement to the Minneapolis Star Tribune newspaper last week that he thought the hunt was legal and he didn’t know Cecil was wearing an electronic collar as part of an Oxford University research project. Palmer said he would cooperate with the U.S. and Zimbabwean authorities.
A petition asking the Obama administration to extradite Palmer to Zimbabwe in connection with the lion’s death gained more than 144,000 signatures in two days. The White House will respond to the petition, spokesman Josh Earnest said Thursday.
Second US medical professional named by Zim authorities
By Carey Gillam
Aug 2 (Reuters) – Zimbabwe has linked a Pennsylvania doctor to an investigation into illegal lion hunting, naming him on Sunday as a client of a safari operator accused of breaching regulations, a week after an American dentist was accused of illegally killing the country’s most famous lion, Cecil.
Dr. Jan Seski, who runs a women’s health practice in Pittsburgh, was named by Zimbabwe as a client of Nyala Safaris, owned by a landowner who has been arrested on accusations of conducting an illegal hunt.
The doctor was in Zimbabwe in April, according to a statement issued by Prince Mupazviriho, permanent secretary in the ministry of environment, water and climate.
The statement spells the doctor’s name as Jan Sieski but the address provided and other details indicate the doctor is Jan Seski. It did not say if the doctor was being accused of any wrongdoing.
In July, Minneapolis dentist and trophy hunter Walter Palmer killed a rare black-maned lion known as Cecil that ruled over a pride in Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe. The slaying of the lion triggered global outrage on social media, protests, and petitions calling for Palmer to be extradited to Zimbabwe.
Referring to Palmer as a “foreign poacher”, Environment Minister Oppah Muchinguri said last week that Palmer should be handed over to Zimbabwean officials to face justice.
On Sunday, Seski did not reply to telephone messages made to his home and office.
The Horns of Africa Safaris website pictures a man identified as Seski posing with animals it says he killed with a bow and arrow, including a zebra, cape buffalo and ostrich.
A website for Alaska Bowhunting Supply pictures a man identified as Seski with an elephant carcass and a caption that reads, “This Zimbabwe elephant is the sixth African elephant shot by Dr. Jan Seski.”
A Facebook page for Dr. Jan Seski Women’s Health was racking up comments on Sunday afternoon.
“Kudos on lion kill recently. You are a fine specimen of the human race. I see that you also murdered an elephant …” one comment read.
The government of Zimbabwe has said that in the aftermath of the killing of Cecil it has directed Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority and other law enforcement agencies to undertake an industry-wide investigation to “crack down and weed out any illegal hunting activities.”
