Posted on 07/29/2015 12:28:18 PM PDT by Citizen Zed
A protest is planned for Wednesday afternoon at the Bloomington dental practice run by a man who hunted and killed a lion in Zimbabwe earlier this month. Dr. Walter James Palmer, 55, is also facing calls that he be held accountable for poaching.
Palmer of Eden Prairie was identified on Tuesday as the hunter who killed Cecil the lion, a popular attraction and research subject at Zimbabwe's Hwange National Park.
Zimbabwean authorities said the lion was lured out of the protection park and shot with a bow and arrow around July 1. The hunters found the wounded animal 40 hours later, killed him using a firearm. They then skinned, beheaded the lion and took off his GPS tracking collar.
The killing sparked outrage online, locally and across the ocean, with Zimbabwean authorities charging the hunting guide and owner of the land where the lion was killed with poaching. A Zimbabwean police spokesperson has said that Palmer may face charges.
Palmer said in a statement that he would cooperate with Zimbabwean and U.S. authorities in any inquiries. He said he did not realize that Cecil was a popular animal and believes the hunting guides he hired had obtained all necessary legal permits.
People have been leaving notes and stuffed animals at the Bloomington site of Palmer's dental practice since news of his involvement emerged. The practice has been closed since Tuesday. The protest is planned for 4 p.m. on Wednesday. By noon, about 1,700 people had already said they planned to attend on Facebook.
"We wanted to go to his dental practice because he's ostensibly a member of the community," said Dallas Rising of the Animal Rights Coalition, who is sponsoring the protest. "We wanted people to know that this is where he is and this is what he's done so they can make informed decisions about whether they want to support his practice."
Animal rights advocates hope that the attention to the Cecil's killing will lead to concrete political actions and more awareness about poaching.
"Of course our organization is concerned about the well-being of all animals, part of what made this particular case so personal for people is the fact that Cecil had a name, and he had an identity and that he was viewed as an individual," Rising said. "It's important for us to remind people that all of the animals in our world are individuals and they all deserve to live free of violence from human beings."
Edward Chidothe is a native of Zimbabwe now living in the Twin Cities. He said to many people from Zimbabwe, the lion is a symbol of southern Africa.
"It was beloved both as a mascot, it was a symbol people knew of, and it was a symbol of when you think about your home," Chidothe said. "It's both losing something you identify with your home, but also the way it was lost."
Others from Zimbabwe, Chidothe said, have questioned whether the locals who are currently facing charges will carry the full punishment for the killing of the lion while Palmer won't be held accountable.
"Some folks use analogies of colonialism," he said. "You have foreigners coming in and exploiting the resources and creating upheaval, and taking in a very violent manner and then disappearing with no accountability for the chaos it created."
Some online petitions have circulated calling for Palmer to be extradited to Zimbabwe to face poaching charges. Minneapolis Attorney Joe Tamburino said the United States and Zimbabwe have had an extradition treaty for felony-level crimes since the late 1990s.
"Zimbabwe would on their end, issue some sort of charge or warrant, and then ask the federal government here, I imagine through the State Department," Tamburino said. "Then they'd effect an arrest here in the United States and then get the individual to court here and then extradited to Zimbabwe."
Extradition is not an automatic process, Tamburino said. In a situation where the accused has the resources to hire attorneys, the extradition process can be especially long and complex.
"The individual would be able to say to our government, 'Look I'm an American citizen, I don't think I should be extradited for whatever the legal argument they're going to make,'" Tamburino said. "Then they'd get a fair hearing in court on that."
The federal government could reject extradition for a number of reasons including humanitarian or legal objections, but American citizenship or wealth don't automatically mean someone can avoid extradition.
"When you travel to another country, you should be absolutely sure you're obeying those country's rules and laws, because if you're not, and they have an extradition treaty with us, you could be in trouble," Tamburino said.
There are other possible legal repercussions facing Palmer, who did not respond to further requests for comment from MPR News.
Gov. Mark Dayton Wednesday weighed in on the killing of the lion calling it "horrible."
"I'm just so disgusted with that man. To shoot any lion but to lure a lion like that out of the preserve and shoot him, how could anybody think that's sport? It's just appalling."
Rep. Betty McCollum has said she is urging the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Department of Justice to investigate whether Palmer violated any laws governing endangered species.
McCollum also told MPR News host Kerri Miller on Wednesday that she was working on legislation to tighten anti-poaching laws in the United States.
Hope the groups protesting Planned Parenthood co-opt these events. Just saying....
Much ado about nothing. There I said it.
I am very, very tempted to show up as a counter protest.
Everything is backwards.
Crowds disappear, stat.
How in the Sam hill did the media decide to push this story? People who three days ago had never heard of Cecil the lion, and who have no idea where Zimbabwe is, are outraged as if on cue, about alleged violations of Zimbabwean hunting regulations.
I can’t believe this has become some huge international story.
White people are upset about a lion in Africa.
Dead black kids in Africa, not at all.
It’s a testimonial to the power of the leftist MSM and progressive domination of social media.
Reminds me of that woman who Tweeted something construed as racist before she got on a flight to South Africa, and found out upon landing that she had basically become the most despised person in the world.
I’m sure it’s been posted here already but Rush mentioned on his show today that CNN reported this morning that Dr. Palmer contributed 5K to Mittens campaign in 2012. I’m sure they’re checking if he has ties to the Tea Party. Oh man. Talk about throwing raw meat to a rabid mob. I can see Cecil the Lion being used as a rallying cry and symbol for the Dems to show how even a majestic animal became another victim of the evil right-wing, Tea Party fanatics.
People have a right to protest anything ... so I support this. Free speech counters free speech
I can’t imagine anyone wanting to shoot a lion, but really: is this guy now officially The Worst Person in the World, deserving to be hounded until he crawls into a hole somewhere? These self-righteous idiots are actually making me feel sorry for the guy, which I didn’t think was possible.
I’ve been stunned at the number of anti-hunting Freepers that want to see this dentist drawn and quartered.
Anti hunting?
This dentist is a felon who was convicted of doing a similar act here in the US with a black bear. It's why he was bow hunting instead of using a firearm.
If anything the dentist is the victim of unethical guide services.
The funniest part of this is FNC is reporting that no one knows where this guy is.
They’re not even sure if he’s back in the country yet.
These boneheads are going to protest a closed business, and a guy who’s not there.
Genius!
The lying dentist who claims after removing the lions head and hide that he's just now learning that the cat had a tracker on it?
He's a convicted felon who was caught doing the same thing here in the US with a black bear.
Where is his office? Too bad I have to work a 15 hour day today.
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