The American dentist who admitted to killing Cecil the lion in Zimbabwe paid for an illegal hunt and should be extradited to face justice, Zimbabwe's environment minister said Friday, Reuters reported.
"Unfortunately it was too late to apprehend the foreign poacher as he had already absconded to his country of origin," Oppah Muchinguri, Zimbabwe's environment, water and climate minister, told a news conference of 55-year-old Walter James Palmer. "We are appealing to the responsible authorities for his extradition to Zimbabwe so that he be made accountable."
Muchinguri said the prosecutor general had started the process to have him extradited from the United States.
Palmer said he had hired professional guides and believed all the necessary hunting permits were in order for the hunt. The 13-year-old lion was a favorite with foreign tourists and the subject of an Oxford University study.
