MINNEAPOLIS, Sept. 7 (UPI) — Walter Palmer, the U.S. dentist who killed Cecil the lion in Zimbabwe, spoke out and is planning to return to work after being the subject of worldwide condemnation and threats.
Cecil was lured from Zimbabwe’s largest game reserve, Hwange National Park, where it is illegal to shoot animals, and killed July 1. Palmer, 55, of Eden Prairie, Minn., shot the animal with a bow and arrow, skinned and beheaded it and left its corpse. It is reported Palmer paid about $50,000 to hunt down Cecil.
“I had no idea that the lion I took was a known, local favorite, 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,” Palmer said in a statement, adding that he felt “regret” for what happened but that his actions were legal.
Zimbabwe called for Palmer’s extradition to face charges for violating poaching laws. Palmer said he kept a low profile after he was identified as the man who killed Cecil due to “some safety issues” for his family.
“I’ve been out of the public eye seeing family and friends. This has been especially hard on my wife and my daughter,” Palmer said in an interview with the Minneapolis Star Tribune. “They’ve been threatened in the social media, and again … I don’t understand that level of humanity to come after people not involved at all.”
Palmer said he will return to work on Tuesday because “my staff and my patients support me and they want me back.”
In 2008, Palmer entered in a guilty plea for misleading federal authorities about a bear he killed illegally in Wisconsin. He was fined and placed on probation. He was also previously convicted of a miisdemeanor for fishing without a license in Minnesota.
