PETA wants Walter Palmer, the American dentist who hunted and then killed the lion, Cecil, in Zimbabwe, to be extradited back to the country before he is then “charged and preferably hanged.”
Palmer paid $50,000 to guides so that he could hunt down and kill Cecil on July 1. Palmer originally lured Cecil out of the Hwange National Park that he called home with a dead animal on the back of a car.
Once outside the gates of the park, Palmer’s group tracked Cecil for 40 hours before he then shot him dead with an arrow. Thirteen-year-old Cecil was ultimately found skinned and beheaded just outside the park.
PETA president Ingrid Newkirk, via Huffington Post , released a statement on Tuesday condemning Palmer’s actions. The full statement read as follows.
“Hunting is a coward’s pastime. If, as has been reported, this dentist and his guides lured Cecil out of the park with food so as to shoot him on private property, because shooting him in the park would have been illegal, he needs to be extradited, charged, and, preferably, hanged.
“To get a thrill at the cost of a life, this man gunned down a beloved lion, Cecil with a high-powered weapon. All wild animals are beloved by their own mates and infants, but to hunters like this overblown, over-privileged little man, who lack empathy, understanding, and respect for living creatures, they are merely targets to kill, decapitate, and hang up on a wall as a trophy.
“The photograph of this dentist, smiling over the corpse of another animal, who, like Cecil, wanted only to be left in peace, will disgust every caring soul in the world.”
The Daily Express has reported that the White House is now taking the petition seriously after it exceeded over 100,000 signatures. It is now up to the Justice Department to respond to the extradition offer.
A group of protestors that gathered outside of Walter Palmer’s dental practice on Wednesday were calling for him to be extradited back to Zimbabwe where he would face charges for his part in the illegal hunt. Currently, Mr. Palmer hasn’t been charged by Zimbabwe or the United States. Meanwhile, a Zimbabwean hunter has been charged for failing to stop the unlawful killing of Cecil.
Attempts to contact Walter Palmer have so far been unsuccessful, while earlier this week he released a statement apologizing for his actions.
[Image via CDNDS ]