Walter Palmer to Return to Dental Practice
The dentist who caused outrage when he killed Zimbabwe’s famous lion, Cecil, has given his first interview since the incident and claims he will return to his practice on Tuesday.
In an interview with the Minneapolis Star Tribune and the Associated Press, 55-year-old dentist Walter Palmer denied acting illegally when he killed the lion, insisting that he didn’t know Cecil was a treasured animal.
During the interview, Palmer told reporters he had shot the lion with an arrow, but said he didn’t die straight away.
He did however deny that the wounded creature wandered around for 40 hours before being shot with a gun. Instead, Palmer claims Cecil was found the next day and killed with another arrow.
Palmer did not comment on whether or not he would comply with any efforts by Zimbabwe to see him charged and extradited. So far, no formal steps to do so have been made public and Palmer’s legal adviser said he hadn’t heard anything about either international or domestic investigations since the beginning of last month.
The dentist received violent threats on social media and had his holiday home in Florida vandalised after news of Cecil’s death hit the headlines. He said he was ‘heartbroken’ that the anger over the incident had affected his staff, as the clinic became a protest site.
He now feels safe enough to return to his work, and stated that his patients and staff support him and want him back.
Palmer made no comment about additional security measures to be made on his return to work, but police say that a security camera will remain on the dental clinic.
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