ASHEBORO, N.C. — Dr. David Jones calls the alleged illegal killing of a beloved and well-known lion by a Minnesota dentist “unacceptable.”
Walter Palmer, an American hunter, is accused of using a dead animal to lure Cecil — a prized lion and tourist attraction — from a national park in Zimbabwe and then shooting him with an arrow.
“Poaching by a wealthy westerner in this sort of situation is an absolute disgrace,” said Jones, the director of the North Carolina Zoo. “There’s no excuse in this case for any of them.”
Officials say two locals who were guiding Palmer found the animal 40 hours later and shot him to death.
Cecil was skinned and beheaded.
The case is drawing international attention and harsh criticism from animal experts.
“There’s no excuse any longer for hunting lions,” he said. “They’re in steep decline.”
He says illegal hunting is part of the reason why animals like lions are quickly becoming endangered.
“The lion population has decreased from something like 400,000 in the 1950s down to an estimated 15 to 20,000 now,” Jones said.
Jones also says the lion’s death will likely result in the loss of tourism dollars for Zimbabwe.
“An animal like this is probably worth something like $100,000 a week to that tourism industry,” he said.
The zoo has been working with national parks and locals in Africa to protect wildlife through education and supplying technology to help crack down on illegal hunting.
“Small hand-held computers where they can actually record the activities of poachers,” Jones said.
Along with lions, Jones says elephants and rhinos are also becoming endangered in Africa.
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