{{Harare (AFP)}} – {Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe on Monday criticised the killing of Cecil the Lion, saying the animal was a key part of the country’s heritage.
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“Our wildlife, all our animals, belong to us. They should not be shot with a gun or with an arrow,” Mugabe told thousands who gathered at a shrine on the outskirts of the capital Harare to commemorate Heroes’ Day.<\/p>\n
“Even Cecil the lion is yours. He is dead. He was yours to protect and he [was] there to protect you,” said the ageing president, who is often the target of condemnation over the country’s human rights record.<\/p>\n
Cecil was killed in early July by American dentist Walter Palmer who paid a local safari company owner $55,000 (50,000 euros) to shoot the beast with a bow and arrow.<\/p>\n
The hunt provoked worldwide outrage when it emerged that Cecil was a well-known attraction among visitors to Zimbabwe’s Hwange National Park — and was wearing a tracking collar as part of an Oxford University research project.<\/p>\n
The local guide Theo Bronkhorst was arrested and charged with failure to prevent an illegal hunt.<\/p>\n
In his speech Monday, Mugabe lashed out at foreigners he said were destroying his country’s wildlife and other natural resources.<\/p>\n
“There are vandals who come from all over. Of course some may be just ordinary visitors but others want to vandalise, to irregularly and illegally acquire part of these resources.”<\/p>\n
Palmer, an experienced trophy hunter, became the target of vicious abuse and death threats over Cecil’s killing, and went into hiding after demonstrations outside his dental practice.<\/p>\n
He apologised for killing Cecil, known by his distinctive black mane, but blamed local guides for misleading him.<\/p>\n
Zimbabwean authorities have since launched a crackdown on illegal hunting.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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