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Nduduzo Tshuma Political Editor
VICE President Phelekezela Mphoko has called on the National Parks and Wildlife Management Authority to ensure the survival of six cubs sired by the iconic lion Cecil that was killed by an American hunter on July 1, by capturing them.

VP Mphoko’s comments follow calls by the Minister of Environment, Water and Climate, Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri, for the American dentist, Walter James Palmer, to be extradited to Zimbabwe to face prosecution.

“Greed led to the death of the famous lion that was killed by an American dentist. The lion had killed no human being or livestock. The lion had a tracking device for research purposes,” said VP Mphoko.

“I support all actions taken by the arms of government in dealing with all those involved in the killing of this lion including the confiscation of the trophy. The American dentist should be banned from hunting in Zimbabwe.

“I would like also to appeal to the Wildlife Management Authority to capture the six cubs before they’re killed by the new dominant lion.”

Addressing a press conference in Harare yesterday, Muchinguri said Palmer was being sought so that he could account for his illegal action.

Muchinguri, according to reports, said Palmer’s use of a bow and arrow to kill the lion was in contravention of Zimbabwean hunting regulations.

“It was too late to apprehend [him] because he had already absconded to his country of origin,” Muchinguri, who referred to Palmer as a “foreign poacher”, was quoted as saying.

Professional hunter Theodro Bronkhorst, 52, and farmer Honest Trymore Ndlovu, have since been arrested for their role in the killing of the iconic lion.

Ndlovu, who owns Antoinette Farm on the south-east edges of the Hwange National Park, was set to be charged separately after prosecutors on Wednesday laid poaching charges against Bronkhorst.

Bronkhorst, who owns Bushmen Safaris which facilitated the hunt, is said to have been paid $50, 000 by Palmer for the kill.

Cecil was lured out of the protection of the Hwange National Park after a bait was placed less than two kilometres from the park boundary inside Ndlovu’s safari farm.

Palmer shot the animal with a crossbow.

Prosecutors say neither Ndlovu nor Bronkhorst had permission from the National Parks and Wildlife Management Authority to kill a lion, although their hunting permits may have allowed the killing of different animal species.

Prosecutors, who charged Bronkhorst for failing to control an illegal hunt, have to come up with an appropriate charge before summoning Ndlovu to court.

They initially preferred a charge of authorising a hunt for an animal which was not on the list of a hunting quota.

Prosecutors said they were likely to be ready with a charge by next Wednesday when Bronkhorst, of Riverside suburb in Bulawayo, is due to appear for trial.

Bronkhorst is out on $1,000 bail and has to report three times a week at Hillside Police Station in Bulawayo, among other bail conditions.

The 13-year-old lion, with a distinctive black mane, was being tracked by Oxford University of England as part of a research project since 1999.

The animal, which has gained overnight fame, was baited out of its sanctuary using an animal’s carcass on July 1.

Palmer allegedly used a bow and arrow to shoot Cecil and wounded him in the process.

He allegedly shot the lion dead some 40 hours later.

Prosecutors have said the lion had a collar with a GPS tracker.

The death of Cecil was only discovered when some researchers at Hwange National Park Main Camp noticed that the lion, valued at $20, 000, was stationary on GPS.

Palmer, who said in a statement that he was not aware of Cecil’s protected status, has received death threats from angry animal activists worldwide.