Walter Palmer, the Minnesota dentist and big-game hunter who killed Cecil the Lion while on a July hunting expedition, won't face charges in the beloved big cat's death, a Zimbabwean minister said Monday.
Palmer and his family faced threats and saw worldwide protests unfold, including demonstrations outside his Bloomington office after the Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force reported that Cecil was lured out of Hwange National Park and shot with a compound bow.
ecil lived another 40 hours until the hunters tracked him down and shot him with a gun, the conservation group said.
He was then skinned and beheaded.
"I had no idea that the lion I took was a known, local favorite, was collared and part of a study until the end of the hunt," Palmer said in a statement in late July.
"I relied on the expertise of my local professional guides to ensure a legal hunt."