If this particular lion had not been a photogenic dandy at the Park, I wonder if there would be such an outcry. If it had been known instead to raid livestock now and then and maybe nab an errant toddler, this would be a non-story. Instead the lion has been anthropomorphized, much like Bambi and thus, the dentist is being dragged over the coals.
As for game violations, that seems to be indicated, but no more so than for any other lion which was to be considered off limits to hunters. He did not go into the refuge and hunt the lion, the lion (for whatever reason) came to him.
In this case, the people I consider most culpable are the guides (or those in their employ) who lured the lion with bait, (although bait is hardly lion specific--it is designed to attract a lion, any lion, and would have to have been very craftily used to lure one specific lion.
In addition, the guides, who should be aware of local law, should have ascertained the lion was not collared, a task which may be made more difficult by the lion's mane.
The dentist should have made a better shot or not taken the shot which resulted in only wounding the animal.
I am not aware of how collared animals are tracked, but it should have been noted rather quickly that this particular lion was missing, especially if it is a favorite with the locals and tourists. The collar should have been tracked to make sure the lion was still in the preserve.
The guides were likely the ones who tried to destroy the collar, as it'd be their butts for guiding the dentist to hunt a collared animal.
As for the bear incident, the regulations have changed, and the current ones are available here
That incident tends to make one think the dentist might have been less likely to protest unscrupulous behaviour on the part of his guides, but I would think the onus of making sure their client did not break game laws would lie with them (they are the professionals on their home turf), and not the other way around.
My problem is that they lured the animal out of the park, and then the injured animal suffered for two days.
Regarding his earlier behavior, Walter J. Palmer was not poaching for food; he lied to a federal agent and then repeatedly lied to US Fish and Wildlife investigators.
The information posted in my previous post is from the lengthy article.
Here’s more about Walter J. Palmer, and whether it’s true, the courts believed it was. When there’s smoke, usually there is fire:
Dr. Walter Palmer, the Minnesota dentist who has achieved worldwide notoriety for killing the most famous lion in Africa paid out $127,500 in 2009 to settle a sexual harassment claim, it was revealed today.
The settlement was made to a former employee at his Minneapolis practice who alleged that Dr. Palmer subjected her to ‘ongoing and unwelcome sexual harassment by, but not limited to, verbal comments and physical conduct involving her breasts, buttocks and genitalia’.
The woman alleged that Dr. Palmer, who has gone into hiding since he slaughtered Cecil the lion, was asked to stop his behavior, but continued. Her complaint also alleges she also lost her job - because she reported his alleged untoward conduct.