Following the outrage that sparked when U.S. dentist, Walter Palmer killed the beloved Cecil the Lion, more fury will now reach advocates worldwide with news that a court in Zimbabwe has dropped charges against Theo Bronkhorst, the professional hunter who led Palmer in the hunt that killed Cecil.
Bronkhorst was charged and accused in court of failing to stop the hunt.
Palmer became infamous after killing Cecil, a magnificent black-maned lion from Hwange National Park in early July of last year which created fury and developed an extreme backlash against the big game hunting industry in Africa.
Bronkhorst’s lawyer, Perpetua Dube told News24, “The charges that were brought by the state in August last year have been set aside.”
“There was no full trial but the [High Court] judge has decided that the charges as they were brought at that time were not properly constituted. He’s agreed with us on that point. And that is all there is to it,” she said in a telephone interview.
“It’s not an acquittal, so it doesn’t have that effect,” she added.
Surprisingly, the Zimbabwe government had decided not to pursue Palmer over the case which prompted Bronkhorst’s lawyers to apply to have his charges dropped last year.
After news about the Cecil’s death broke last year, Bronkhorst’s became a global target, receiving death threats, having to close Bronkhorst’s Minneapolis office and even received vandalism on his house in Florida.
Palmer’s dentist office had re-opened last year without Palmer, their leading dentist and hunter.
Source: ewn.co.za
Photo Credit: Star Tribune, LockerDome, Cecils Pride – WordPress.com
