US Government Investigating Killing of Cecil the Lion

The U.S. government has announced that it will investigate the killing of Cecil the Lion, a national treasure in Zimbabwe who was killed by an American dentist.

Reuters reports that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is investigating Minnesota-based dentist Walter Palmer who has already admitted he killed the 13-year-old lion after wounding it with a bow and following it for 40 hours before shooting it with a rifle, and then skinning and decapitating it.

The Fish and Wildlife Service is investigating Cecil's death under the purview of the Lacey Act, which makes it illegal to trade in animal products that had been illegally killed, transported, or sold. Cecil's corpse was found skinned and missing his head, presumably so that Palmer could make a rug and mount the head on his wall, as it typical of people who trophy hunt, which is distinct from hunting for food or to help an ecosystem cope with overpopulation.

Cecil was found dead outside the Hwange National Park, a protected area where hunting is strictly forbidden. Palmer lured Cecil from the safe zone by using bait.

Cecil's death has spurred international outrage, and Palmer has been the subject of ire on social media, trending on Twitter for a time, while his dental practice's Facebook page was filled with insults and people expressing their disgust at Palmer's actions. Palmer's practice's Yelp page was also inundated with negative reviews, which Yelp deleted, claiming that a company's practices aren't worth discussion on their pages.

So many people are outraged about Cecil's killing 100,000 have signed a petition asking the White House to consider extraditing Palmer to Zimbabwe to face punishment for his crime.

It has been said that the hunt took place at night and without the required permits. One of the Zimbabwean hunters who was with Palmer has already been arrested.