Cecil the lion: US dentist Walter Palmer rarely discussed hunting with patients

[webfact]

Minnesota dentist rarely discussed hunting with patients
By BRIAN BAKST and FARAI MUTSAKA

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — A Minnesota dentist who has become the target of worldwide outrage for hunting and killing a protected lion in Zimbabwe advised patients Wednesday to seek care elsewhere and said he rarely discussed his big-game hunting because it can be a "divisive and emotionally charged topic."

Walter James Palmer remained secluded in the face of protests at his suburban Minneapolis clinic and intense condemnation online. He has not appeared in public since being identified Tuesday as a party to the lion's death.

Palmer, whose practice offers general and cosmetic dentistry, is an active big-game hunter, with many kills to his name, some of them registered with hunting clubs.

The North Dakota native "enjoys all outdoor activities," according to the biography page on his now-dark clinic website. "Anything allowing him to stay active and observe and photograph wildlife is where you will find Dr. Palmer when he not in the office."

In Zimbabwe, a hunting guide and a farm owner appeared in court on allegations they helped Palmer kill the lion named Cecil. And the head of Zimbabwe's safari association said the big cat with the black mane was lured into the kill zone and denied "a chance of a fair chase."

The Zimbabwean men were accused of aiding Palmer, who reportedly paid $50,000 to track and kill a lion. Zimbabwe police have said they are looking for Palmer, whose exact whereabouts were unknown.

Palmer, 55, referenced the situation in a note to his patients. "I understand and respect that not everyone shares the same views on hunting," he wrote in the letter, which was obtained by the local Fox television affiliate, KMSP.

The married father of two was the subject of a 2009 New York Times article about big-game hunting in which he said he learned to shoot at age 5. The article said Palmer had a reputation for being capable of "skewering a playing card from 100 yards" with a compound bow and having "a purist's reputation for his disinclination to carry firearms as backup."

During the nighttime hunt, the Zimbabwean men tied a dead animal to their car to draw the lion out of a national park, said Johnny Rodrigues, chairman of the Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force.

The American is believed to have shot the lion with a crossbow. The wounded cat was then tracked for 40 hours before Palmer fatally shot him with a gun, Rodrigues said.

A professional hunter named Theo Bronkhorst was accused of failing to "prevent an unlawful hunt." Court documents said Bronkhorst was supervising while Palmer shot the animal.

Bronkhorst was released on $1,000 bail after appearing in court in Hwange, about 435 miles (700 kilometers) west of the capital Harare, according to his defense lawyer, Givemore Muvhiringi.

If convicted, Bronkhorst faces up to 15 years in prison.

A second man, farm owner Honest Trymore Ndlovu, also appeared in court but was not charged and was released from custody, his lawyer Tonderai Makuku said.

The court documents made no mention of Palmer as a suspect.

Using bait to lure the lion is deemed unethical by the Safari Operators Association of Zimbabwe, of which Bronkhorst is a member. The association has since revoked his license.

"Ethics are certainly against baiting. Animals are supposed to be given a chance of a fair chase," Emmanuel Fundira, the association's president, said. "In fact, it was not a hunt at all. The animal was baited, and that is not how we do it. It is not allowed."

It was not entirely clear whether baiting is allowed by Zimbabwe law. Fundira said the practice was both unethical and illegal. The conservation group Lion Aid says it is unethical but not expressly forbidden.

Palmer attended dental school at the University of Minnesota and built his practice in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington. He said in a statement that he did not know the lion was protected and relied on his guides to ensure a legal hunt.

"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," Palmer said in statement issued through a public relations firm.

Cecil was being studied by an Oxford University research program.

Social media were filled with condemnation of the killing just outside Zimbabwe's Hwange National Park. On Twitter, the hashtag cecilthelion was in wide use.

A couple of hundred protesters gathered Wednesday outside Palmer's office with signs, including one that said, "Let the hunter be hunted!" Signs also were taped on Palmer's office door. Sarah Madison brought her two children, including her 3-year-old son dressed in a lion costume. She said says the hunt, even if legal, was "immoral" and "disgraceful."

Organizations that foster and defend big-game hunting distanced themselves from Palmer, including those where he was a member.

Palmer appeared in past versions of Safari Club International records dated as recently as July 5, but his name had been dropped from the standings as of Tuesday evening. Corresponding pages featuring photos of Palmer with an African lion, a southern white rhinoceros and an African elephant remained accessible on the club's website.

Chip Burkhalter, the club's director of government relations, initially told a reporter he would respond to calls following a meeting, but then he could not be reached.

Glenn Hisey, director of records for the Minnesota-based Pope and Young Club, where Palmer registered some of his killings by bow, told The Associated Press that the group was concerned about the news from Africa.

"If he violated controlling game laws there, he might have violated controlling game laws other places," Hisey said Tuesday, adding that Palmer's listings with the club could be examined as more facts emerge.

By Wednesday, Hisey was declining to comment.

According to U.S. court records, Palmer pleaded guilty in 2008 to making false statements to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service about a black bear he fatally shot in western Wisconsin. Palmer had a permit to hunt but shot the animal outside the authorized zone in 2006, then tried to pass it off as being killed elsewhere, according to court documents. He was given one year probation and fined nearly $3,000.

Cecil is believed to have been killed July 1 and his carcass discovered days later.
___

Mutsaka reported from Harare, Zimbabwe. Associated Press writers Amy Forliti and Jeff Baenen in Minneapolis and Hannah Cushman in Chicago contributed to this report.

-- (c) Associated Press 2015-07-30

[meatboy]

let him loose in the reserve WITHOUT HIS GUN.

[Suradit69]

The American is believed to have shot the lion with a crossbow. The wounded cat was then tracked for 40 hours before Palmer fatally shot him with a gun, Rodrigues said.

I guess the term "sport" means different things to different people.

[phantomfiddler]

I am not particularly anti-hunting, but to shoot any beast with a crossbow and then have it wander around in agony for 40 hours is totally repulsive ! Shame on you, James

[jkinbkk]

The Bast--ds Killed Parsley

Edited July 30, 2015 by jkinbkk

[lifeincnx]

This guy is now more hated than Bill Cosby in America. I sincerely hope his dental business collapses, he is bankrupted, and is forced into hiding, preferably in the brush under a blazing African sun. Then call in the lions.

Here is a link to the White House pushing the Obama administration to have this Walter Palmer extradited to Zimbabwe to face trial along with the accused poachers. Zimbabwe justice seems just about right, don't you think?

https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/extradite-minnesotan-walter-james-palmer-face-justice-zimbabwe

Edited July 30, 2015 by lifeincnx

[little mary sunshine]

Real sportsman....guess He could hunt a wild dog

as long as it was tied to a tree. Dispicable person!

[meatboy]

i cant believe i missed that he had shot it first with a cross-bow, to add what i already said should happen to him,this should be his treat,extract his teeth with a pair of plyers

WITHOUT ANY PAINKILLER.so he cant bite back.

[lensta]

IMO, justice would be served if he was stripped of all his wealth and belongings,

taken to Zimbabwe, shot with the same bow as he shot the lion and dropped off near

a pack of lions. If there was anything left of him after the lions had finished with him,

he should be skinned, gutted, and have his head cut off and mounted as a warning

to all the other cowards that hunt game with a weapon.

[DM07]

What a sad and pathetic person!

There are pills for erectile disfunction!

No need to get a hard on with shooting animals for fun!

[robertthebruce]

Words fail me, with people like this....

[Tonawatchee]

What is so fun about killing a lion?

[daoyai]

He is a serial killer, also killed a white rhino and elephant in the past, I am not anti hunting, kill and eat deer, wild hog and turkey if you wish, not endangered.

Edited July 30, 2015 by daoyai

[Ulysses G.]

I don't like hunting at all, but can excuse it, if it is for food. Killing for the joy of killing is a sickness.

[luk AJ]

I agree with all above comments, but why is it that a dead lion gets more attention than a child killed by a drunk driver?

[Ulysses G.]

It is a LOT less common.

[wabothai]

His "pride"of killing a lion turned into a life-long nightmare for him and his family.

Seems punishment enough for me.

[Gandtee]

I don't suppose he did discuss hunting with his patients. It's difficult to understand anyone with their mouth wide open and a suction pump on the go. 'Do you go hunting'? Ugh ugh ugh ugh ugh

[lap82]

I don't suppose he did discuss hunting with his patients. It's difficult to understand anyone with their mouth wide open and a suction pump on the go. 'Do you go hunting'? Ugh ugh ugh ugh ugh

Just thought the same

[Jingthing]

This bloody dentist is clearly an anti-Lionist!

Edited July 30, 2015 by Jingthing

[Exsexyman]

i cant believe i missed that he had shot it first with a cross-bow, to add what i already said should happen to him,this should be his treat,extract his teeth with a pair of plyers

WITHOUT ANY PAINKILLER.so he cant bite back.

He actually shot it with a bow and arrow, the lion was then tracked down and found still alive 40 hours later when it was finished off with a rifle. Walter Palmer should have had someone standing over him with a shot gun and forced to eat it.

[Scott]

Off-topic posts and replies removed.

[Berkshire]

I agree with all above comments, but why is it that a dead lion gets more attention than a child killed by a drunk driver?

Perhaps because one is an endangered species and the other is not? Note: I'm being somewhat facetious.

Honestly, I don't get comments like this. There are people dying everyday. So you believe the press shouldn't report on anything else?

[casualbiker]

Don't forget that according to some news reports they then skinned it and cut it's head off for a trophy. If true, where are they now?

[samran]

I would have thought that while undergoing dental procedures, conversation would be near impossible...

[Anthony5]

I see the Thaivisa's PC brigade is well alive and kicking, but I'm sure that if I would offer an all paid for Safari hunting to Zimbabwe for the first who send me a PM, that my inbox would be red hot .

[nidieunimaitre]

I see the Thaivisa's PC brigade is well alive and kicking, but I'm sure that if I would offer an all paid for Safari hunting to Zimbabwe for the first who send me a PM, that my inbox would be red hot .

What made you so cynical?

[meatboy]

i cant believe i missed that he had shot it first with a cross-bow, to add what i already said should happen to him,this should be his treat,extract his teeth with a pair of plyers

WITHOUT ANY PAINKILLER.so he cant bite back.

He actually shot it with a bow and arrow, the lion was then tracked down and found still alive 40 hours later when it was finished off with a rifle. Walter Palmer should have had someone standing over him with a shot gun and forced to eat it.

he wont get much meat in the slammer there, EXTRADITION PAPERS ON THE WAY.

[slapout]

The man paid 50,000 dollars to get permission to hunt and kill a lion in Zimbabwe, plus he had to pay and be accompanied by a professional liscensed hunting guide who is present to insure the hunt is conducted legally and hopefully succesful. Palmer uses a cross bow for his hunts for the kill. In this case he only wounded the critter thus the trackdown and subsquent shooting of the lion to put it out of its misery. The lion was reported to be 13 years of age which is longer than most male lions live in the wild. he was past prime and a younger male or two were waiting to drive him out and take over the pride.

The baiting of feline prey in big game hunting is not uncommon nor illegal in most countries. The dentist is a trophy hunter judging by the press and the photo of the rino he had taken, also with a crossbow. The report of a night hunt does not sound right, either poor reporting or mis information being delibertly put out. When you hunt a baited cat, its done from a ''hide'' with the bait hung to bring the cat into range/view. Normal feeding time for lion, etc is dawn and dusk thus that is normal shooting time, Baiting and using a vehicle (spotlighting) for nightime hunting/poaching are not done together.and the latter is illegal.

I know quite a number of big game hunters who hunt in Africa and some parts of noth america and those i have dealt with are true sportsmen. My dealing with them was commercial as they favored larger bore (470 caliber as an example,) double rifles, which I had access to and would sell for the right price.

[pegman]

The man paid 50,000 dollars to get permission to hunt and kill a lion in Zimbabwe, plus he had to pay and be accompanied by a professional liscensed hunting guide who is present to insure the hunt is conducted legally and hopefully succesful. Palmer uses a cross bow for his hunts for the kill. In this case he only wounded the critter thus the trackdown and subsquent shooting of the lion to put it out of its misery. The lion was reported to be 13 years of age which is longer than most male lions live in the wild. he was past prime and a younger male or two were waiting to drive him out and take over the pride.

The baiting of feline prey in big game hunting is not uncommon nor illegal in most countries. The dentist is a trophy hunter judging by the press and the photo of the rino he had taken, also with a crossbow. The report of a night hunt does not sound right, either poor reporting or mis information being delibertly put out. When you hunt a baited cat, its done from a ''hide'' with the bait hung to bring the cat into range/view. Normal feeding time for lion, etc is dawn and dusk thus that is normal shooting time, Baiting and using a vehicle (spotlighting) for nightime hunting/poaching are not done together.and the latter is illegal.

I know quite a number of big game hunters who hunt in Africa and some parts of noth america and those i have dealt with are true sportsmen. My dealing with them was commercial as they favored larger bore (470 caliber as an example,) double rifles, which I had access to and would sell for the right price.

The "sport" of killing for the sake of it? P.E.T.A. is calling for the "sportsman" to be extradited, tried & hung if convicted. I have no problem with that.