Spanish tourist suspected of killing Cecil the lion in Zimbabwe
Authorities in Zimbabwe are searching for a European tourist who they allege killed one of Africa’s most famous lions. They believe that the the man, who is possibly Spanish, may have paid around €50,000 to a safari guide for the chance to do so.
Cecil the lion was part of an Oxford University research project and was the star attraction at the Hwange national park.
The 13-year-old wore a GPS collar which made it possible fo to track his final movements. It is believed that on July 6th, the Spaniard along with two other hunters lured Cecil out of the national park with freshly killed bait, allowing them to kill him ‘legally’ on unprotected land. Cecil, who had a distinctive black mane, was shot with a bow and arrow and tracked for 40 hours before they killed him with a rifle.
Cecil’s head and skin were removed as trophies.
Johnny Rodrigues, head of the Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force, told CNN that the head and pelt had since been confiscated by authorities as evidence.
“Cecil’s death is a tragedy, not only because he was a symbol of Zimbabwe but because now we have to give up for dead his six cubs, as a new male won’t allow them to live so as to encourage Cecil’s three females to mate,” he said.
“The two people who accompanied the hunter have been arrested but we haven’t yet tracked down the hunter, who is Spanish.”
The Zimbabwe Professional Hunters and Guides Association admitted that the safari had been run by one of their members. In a Facebook post, they confirmed that they would be suspending his membership indefinitely and reiterated that they do “not tolerate any illegal hunting or any unethical practices by any of its members and their staff”.
The ZPHGA has come under heavy criticism on their page as commenters vent their anger at the killing.
Both the owner of the land and the operator of the safari have been arrested but Rodrigues believes they will likely only face ‘a slap on the wrist’.
Politicians and conservationists are now calling on the EU to ban imports of lion’s skin, head and paws as hunters' trophies from African countries that cannot prove their population is sustainable.
Liberal Democrat MEP Catherine Bearder has tabled an urgent parliamentary question to the European Commission, commenting that "the shooting of Cecil the lion was tragic and cruel, but it has at least shone a spotlight on the absurdity of the current situation.'
"In countries where there is no recent and independent data on lion populations, including Zimbabwe, imports of hunting trophies into Europe must be immediately banned," she said.
Professor David Macdonald, founding director of Oxford's Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, warned that there would likely be disruptions within the pride as Cecil's successor may feel threatened by his cubs and kill them.
He said he was deeply saddened by Cecil's death:
"It's not many months ago that I watched Cecil with my hand on my heart as he strayed toward a hunting concession. On that occasion he turned back into the protection of the park, but this time he made a fatal mistake and I feel deeply sad, personally."
