Zimbabwe exported 49 lion trophies in 2013 alone- Cecil the lion a new victim

The American Doctor who killed the Cecil lion was not his first time killing the big five in Zimbabwe I can reveal. In the past,  Dr Walter Palmer hunted and killed a leopard  and another lion for a trophy in Zimbabwe, a picture with him posing with his spoils can be seen below.  Zimbabwean government has been issuing hunting permits for years and most hunting safaris are now owned by the politicians and top government official I can reveal. It has become so much a lucrative business for the few connected people sharing the spoils.  Actually I can confirm that in 2013 alone over 49 lion trophies were exported from Zimbabwe, giving suspicion that more than 40 lions were hunted and shot for trophies under licence from the ZANU PF government. “Cecil” the lion couldn’t stand a chance of survival given the appetitive for lion trophies.

Dr Walter Palmer’s regret for shooting the lion was equally shocking; "I had no idea that the lion I took was a known, local favourite, was collared and part of a study until the end of the hunt. I relied on the expertise of my local professional guides to ensure a legal hunt...” It was as if it’s ok to kill a lion for as long as it’s not a local favourite, how absurd that is. How do you tell that it’s a local favourite as if it’s not known then it’s priceless. This excuse tallies with an Australian, Glen n McGath who killed a buffalo and 2 elephants in 2008 in Zimbabwe and offered a sorry to the animal lovers when confronted and no action was taken then.

The only reason why “Cecil” the lion was discovered missing and attracted international fury  is because it was under GPS surveillance from Oxford University over 10,000 miles aware from Zimbabwe in UK.  This explains why the issues has just come to the fold over 3 weeks after the incident and after Cecil’s head has already been flown to USA as treasured trophy. I can also reveal that Cecil’s killers tried to destroy the GPS evidence before its position was alerted without success.

The solution to stop this evil sport that undermines our heritage requires cross party consensus to change our laws and save our flora and fauna and especially the big 5. It is not a ZANU PF issue alone; while MDC is not party of the problem certainly it must be part of the solution to change our laws. We saw this during GNU and we continue to see the same increase in this brutality to our endangered species.  That a lion of international persona can be killed for a $50k price tag is shocking to say the least. 

It is only right that in the absent of a responsible government, Zimbabweans must take collective action to serve our heritage. As we call for electoral reforms, let’s make it loud and clear that laws governing hunting be reviewed.  We are the people.