Legal Basis for Prosecution of Killing of Cecil the Lion

Much to the chagrin of animal lovers the world over, the 13-year-old Zimbabwean lion named Cecil is now dead. William Palmer, a dentist from Minnesota, has admitted to killing Cecil. In June of 2015, Palmer lured Cecil out of his sanctuary and then shot Cecil with an arrow. 40 hours later, the dentist killed Cecil with a rifle. Afterward, Palmer decapitated and skinned Cecil.

Palmer stated through his publicist that he believed the hunt was legal, and that he “deeply regrets” killing Cecil. Although he has not faced charges in Zimbabwe, a government minister described him as a “foreign poacher” and stated that he should be extradited. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said that it was contacted by Palmer’s representative, and that it is conducting an investigation.

According to a source connected to the investigation, the agency is seeking potential violations of the Lacey Act, a 115-year-old U.S. law that was enacted to prevent unlawful animal trafficking. The purpose of the law has since been extended, and it currently forbids one to import, export, sell, acquire, or purchase animals that are protected by the laws of the U.S. or foreign countries.   

However, legal experts claim that the case could prove challenging to prosecute. The Lacey Act has seldom, if ever, been used against hunters who do not bring animal parts back into the U.S. There is, thus, a weak link between the hunt in Zimbabwe and the U.S. According to Zimbabwe’s national parks authority, the local police have confiscated Cecil’s remains, including his skin and head. Since Cecil’s parts are still in Zimbabwean, it will be difficult to charge Palmer under the Lacey Act and other anti-poaching laws.

Alternative Charges

The Fish and Wildlife Service is attempting to discover whether Palmer was engaged in a conspiracy to import animal parts into the U.S. In order to charge him with conspiracy, the government will likely be looking at transfers of funds, telephone calls, and other types of communication as evidence of his plan to import animal parts into the U.S. Two officials at the Justice Department stated that the case is unprecedented in that there are no known cases against American hunters who did not import animal parts.

In 2014, conspiracy charges were brought against a safari group called Out of Africa, which was engaged in the sale of illicit hunts of rhinoceros in South Africa, while maintaining an office in Alabama. Currently, the U.S. is in the midst of extraditing two defendants named Dawie and Janneman Groenwald, who are from South Africa. They face 17 counts of charges, one of which is for conspiracy, and six of which are for illicit wildlife trafficking in transgression of the Lacey Act.

In regard to the hunt that killed Cecil, charges have already been filed in Zimbabwe against Theo Bronkhurst, who has been indicted for neglecting to supervise, control, and implement measures to avoid an illicit hunt. He entered a plea of not guilty. The owner of the game park, Honest Ndlovu, who has also been implicated for the role he played in assisting Palmer, has not yet been charged. Park officials stated that he would initially testify for the state, and face charges at a later date.

Regardless of whether or not Palmer violated the Lacey Act, there should be consequences under the law for having killed Cecil the Lion. Otherwise, there may be more needless, illegal killings of rare animals by hunters.