Walter Palmer, the U.S. dentist who shot and killed Cecil the Lion, will not be charged since his papers were in order, Zimbabwe's environmental minister revealed to reporters.
In July, Palmer sparked global outrage after he was assumed to have illegally killed Cecil in Zimbabwe's Hwange National Park, reported the Independent. Since the shooting, global consciousness about hunting, poaching and related activities have been at an all-time high.
When reports of the shooting first broke, Zimbabwe called for the dentist to be extradited from the United States to be tried.
Palmer maintained his innocence throughout the entire ordeal, consistently pleading that he thought the hunt was legal and all of the necessary hunting permits were in order, reported Express. He further claimed that if he had known the lion was nationally significant, then he wouldn't have harmed him.
"If I had known this lion had a name and was important to the country or a study, obviously, I wouldn't have taken it," he said. "Nobody in our hunting party knew before or after the name of this lion."
Following an investigation, Zimbabwe authorities found Palmer did indeed have the proper paperwork in order, absolving him of being guilty of knowingly making an illegal hunt.
"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 Environment Minister Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri, according to Reuters.
While Palmer was found to be innocent of his charges, the other two men involved in the incident weren't quite as lucky.
His guide, Theo Bronkhorst, and local landowner, Honest Ndlovu, were both arrested in Zimbabwe and charged with failing to prevent an illegal hunt.
