Since his identity has been revealed, Zimbabwe officials have not made any official comments as to what they planned to do with Walter Palmer, the dentist accused of killing the beloved Cecil the lion. However, in a press conference this morning, Zimbabwe’s environment minister Oppah Muchinguri said they will indeed pursue legal action, and would like for the United States to hand him over to them.
“The illegal killing was deliberate,” [Muchinguri] told a news conference. “We are appealing to the responsible authorities for his extradition to Zimbabwe so that he can be held accountable for his illegal actions.”
“It was too late to apprehend the foreign poacher because he had already absconded to his country of origin,” Muchinguri said.
It seems like the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is prepared to cooperate with Zimbabwe’s investigation, but there’s just one problem: Palmer is nowhere to be found. He hasn’t been seen publicly since his identity was revealed and has not responded to phone calls or emails.
“I’m sure he knows” the government is looking for him, Ed Grace, chief of law enforcement for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, told the Washington Post on Thursday. “We’ve made repeated attempts to try and get in contact with him.”
This is a tricky one. Thankfully, I know just the guy who’s good at luring things out of places. WWWPD? Maybe fill a Jeep with some adorable baby seals or some other adorable God’s creature that horrible monsters like killing, and troll around Minnesota until he catches the scent and is lured out? Just a thought.
(Via Yahoo News, Washington Post via Gawker)