Dentist Walter Palmer Won’t Be Charged for Killing Cecil the Lion

Dentist Walter Palmer will not be charged for killing the beloved lion Cecil this past July, the Zimbabwe government announced on Monday.

Environment Minister Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri told reporters that Palmer’s hunting papers were legal, so he won’t be charged, reported Reuters.

“We approached the police and then the Prosecutor General, and it turned out that Palmer came to Zimbabwe because all the papers were in order,” said Muchinguri-Kashiri. He added that the Minnesota dentist would be allowed to visit Zimbabwe in the future only as a tourist, not as a hunter. Reuters reported the implication is that if Palmer applies for a hunting permit in the future he will not be granted one.

However, there are still pending charges in relation to the hunt that killed Cecil. Two men in Zimbabwe have been charged with breaking hunting rules and allowing an illegal hunt, although both deny the charges.

The men allegedly baited Cecil out of the national park where he lived so that he could be hunted by Palmer.