Zimbabwe Alleges 2nd American Illegally Hunted Lion
ASSOCIATED PRESS
AUG. 2, 2015, 1:49 P.M. E.D.T.
HARARE, Zimbabwe — Another American illegally hunted and killed a lion in Zimbabwe several months ago, authorities said Sunday amid an international outcry over the U.S. hunter accused of illegally killing a well-known lion named Cecil in early July.
This American was identified as Jan Casimir Seski of Murrysville, Pennsylvania, by Zimbabwe's National Parks and Wildlife Management Authority. It's statement said Seski killed the lion with a bow and arrow in April around Zimbabwe's Hwange National Park.
A Zimbabwean landowner, Headman Sibanda, was arrested is assisting police in the Seski scase, the wildlife authority said.
Seski is a gynecological oncologist who directs the Center for Bloodless Medicine and Surgery at Allegheny General Hospital.
He's also an active big-game hunter, according to safari outfitters and bow-hunting sites that have posted pictures of kills identifying "Dr. Jan Seski" as the man standing next to slain animals including elephants, an impala, a kudu, a Nyala, a hippo and an ostrich.
Those images match the doctor's appearance in pictures on his medical practice's website, where Seski's information in turn matches that of Jan Seski in Murrysville.
The Associated Press called and knocked on the door at Seski's home, which is secluded from neighbors and set back among woods in a rural area outside Pittsburgh. The AP also left a message with an answering service for his medical practice, with no immediate response.
National Parks spokeswoman Caroline Washaya Moyo said Seski had provided his name and other identifying information for a government database when he came for the hunt.
"When hunters come into the country they fill a document stating their personal details, the amount they have paid for the hunt, the number of animals to be hunted, the species to be hunted and the area and period where that hunt is supposed to take place," she said. "The American conducted his hunt in an area where lion hunting is outlawed. The landowner who helped him with the hunt also did not have a have a quota for lion hunting."
Stewart Dorrington, who owns a game reserve in neighboring South Africa where Seski hunted several years ago, said the American seemed like a "perfect gentleman" and came on his own. Dorrington, who operates Melorani Safaris in North West province, said he had not had any contact with Seski since 2012.
"He was a great guy," Dorrington said. "Everything he did was perfectly legal and above board and a great help to our conservation efforts."
Dorrington said he had converted his cattle ranch into a game reserve in the 1980s, and that funds from the trophy hunting of antelope were essential to conserving the wildlife population.
Two illegal lion hunts also were recorded last year in Zimbabwe, said Geoffrey Matipano, conservation director for the wildlife authority. He did not provide details on those cases.
Zimbabwean authorities earlier said they will seek the extradition of Minnesota dentist Walter James Palmer, alleging he did not have authorization to kill the lion named Cecil a month ago. The lion was lured out of Hwange park and first wounded with a bow and arrow before being tracked down and shot, according to conservationists in Zimbabwe. Palmer has said he relied on his professional guides to ensure his hunt was legal.
Two Zimbabwean citizens were arrested and face charges in the case in which Palmer has been implicated.
On Saturday, Zimbabwe's wildlife authority said it had suspended the hunting of lions, leopards and elephants in the Hwange area. Bow and arrow hunts were also suspended and can only be approved by the head of the wildlife authority.
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Contributors include Christopher Torchia in Johannesburg, Kristen De Groot and Ron Todt in Philadelphia and Zach Brendza in Murrysville, Pennsylvania.
Zimbabwe wants Walter Palmer extradited in killing of Cecil the lion
Jul 31, 2015 2:40 PM ET
Zimbabwean Minister of Environment, Water and Climate Oppah Muchinguri spoke to reporters in Harare on Friday. Zimbabwe intends to seek the extradition of an American dentist who killed a lion that was lured out of a national park and killed, she said.
The American dentist who killed Cecil the lion a month ago in Zimbabwe paid for an illegal hunt and should be extradited to the southern African nation to face justice, Zimbabwe's environment minister said on Friday.
In a news conference, Oppah Muchinguri referred to 55-year-old Walter Palmer as a "foreign poacher," and said she understood that Zimbabwe's prosecutor general had started the process to have him extradited from the United States.
"We are appealing to the responsible authorities for his extradition to Zimbabwe so that he can be held accountable for his illegal action," she said.
Muchinguri also said Palmer's use of a bow and arrow to kill the lion, who is said to have been lured out of Hwange National Park with bait before being shot, was in contravention of Zimbabwean hunting regulations.
Cecil the lion slaying triggers probe by U.S. agency
Palmer has admitted killing the 13-year-old predator, a favourite with foreign tourists and the subject of an Oxford University study, but said he had hired professional guides and believed all the necessary hunting permits were in order.
The Minnesota dentist and trophy hunter has not been seen since his identity was revealed this week by Zimbabwean conservationists, but the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said Friday afternoon it was contacted by a representative of Palmer.
The agency is investigating the killing to see if it was part of a conspiracy to violate U.S. laws against illegal wildlife trading.
In Washington, a Zimbabwean diplomat said the embassy was not aware that extradition proceedings had been initiated by his government.
Richard Chibuwe, deputy chief of the mission, said Zimbabwe takes the case very seriously and noted that two Zimbabwean men face court proceedings for helping Palmer.
On Wednesday, a Zimbabwean court charged local professional hunter Theo Bronkhorst with failing to prevent Palmer from unlawfully killing Cecil.
"People really feel strongly that he must also face trial," Chibuwe said of Palmer.
The U.S. Justice Department said it does not comment on extradition requests. Palmer must be charged in Zimbabwe before he can be extradited.
Palmer, a life-long big game hunter, managed to return to the United States before the authorities were aware of the controversy around Cecil's death.
"It was too late to apprehend the foreign poacher because he had already absconded to his country of origin," Muchinguri said.
Legal, political hurdles
The killing has sparked social media outrage against Palmer in the United States. The White House said on Thursday it would review a public petition of more than 100,000 signatures to have him extradited.
Lawyer Alec Muchadehama said no American had been extradited to Zimbabwe since the treaty was signed, and that Harare would face legal and political hurdles with Palmer.
First, it has to apply to U.S. courts and satisfy them that Palmer committed an offence and that he would be jailed for more than a year if convicted. Courts in Zimbabwe consider a fine first for lion poachers before imposing a jail term, he said.
"They [U.S. courts] may actually doubt the competence of the judiciary here to try him in an objective manner, particularly given these prejudicial pronouncements that the politicians are already making," said Muchadehama.
Money pours in
A pair of U.S. philanthropists with a passion for wild cats pledged Friday to match new donations to Oxford University's Wildlife Conservation Unit — the researchers who were tracking the movements of Cecil the lion in Zimbabwe.
Tom Kaplan, a natural resource investor whose net worth was put by Forbes magazine at $1 billion US, and his wife, Daphne, will match donations made after 3 p.m. GMT Friday up to a total value of $100,000.
The Kaplans hope to help the Oxford researchers raise half a million pounds to further their work.
"We have to seize this moment where we can all make a difference," Tom Kaplan said in a statement, adding that if the "death of Cecil can lead to the saving of many more lions, then some good can come from tragedy."
 |
| Republic of Zimbabwe Minister of Wildlife Oppah Muchinguri. |
AUG. 2, 2015, 1:49 P.M. E.D.T.
HARARE, Zimbabwe — Another American illegally hunted and killed a lion in Zimbabwe several months ago, authorities said Sunday amid an international outcry over the U.S. hunter accused of illegally killing a well-known lion named Cecil in early July.
This American was identified as Jan Casimir Seski of Murrysville, Pennsylvania, by Zimbabwe's National Parks and Wildlife Management Authority. It's statement said Seski killed the lion with a bow and arrow in April around Zimbabwe's Hwange National Park.
A Zimbabwean landowner, Headman Sibanda, was arrested is assisting police in the Seski scase, the wildlife authority said.
Seski is a gynecological oncologist who directs the Center for Bloodless Medicine and Surgery at Allegheny General Hospital.
He's also an active big-game hunter, according to safari outfitters and bow-hunting sites that have posted pictures of kills identifying "Dr. Jan Seski" as the man standing next to slain animals including elephants, an impala, a kudu, a Nyala, a hippo and an ostrich.
Those images match the doctor's appearance in pictures on his medical practice's website, where Seski's information in turn matches that of Jan Seski in Murrysville.
The Associated Press called and knocked on the door at Seski's home, which is secluded from neighbors and set back among woods in a rural area outside Pittsburgh. The AP also left a message with an answering service for his medical practice, with no immediate response.
National Parks spokeswoman Caroline Washaya Moyo said Seski had provided his name and other identifying information for a government database when he came for the hunt.
"When hunters come into the country they fill a document stating their personal details, the amount they have paid for the hunt, the number of animals to be hunted, the species to be hunted and the area and period where that hunt is supposed to take place," she said. "The American conducted his hunt in an area where lion hunting is outlawed. The landowner who helped him with the hunt also did not have a have a quota for lion hunting."
Stewart Dorrington, who owns a game reserve in neighboring South Africa where Seski hunted several years ago, said the American seemed like a "perfect gentleman" and came on his own. Dorrington, who operates Melorani Safaris in North West province, said he had not had any contact with Seski since 2012.
"He was a great guy," Dorrington said. "Everything he did was perfectly legal and above board and a great help to our conservation efforts."
Dorrington said he had converted his cattle ranch into a game reserve in the 1980s, and that funds from the trophy hunting of antelope were essential to conserving the wildlife population.
Two illegal lion hunts also were recorded last year in Zimbabwe, said Geoffrey Matipano, conservation director for the wildlife authority. He did not provide details on those cases.
Zimbabwean authorities earlier said they will seek the extradition of Minnesota dentist Walter James Palmer, alleging he did not have authorization to kill the lion named Cecil a month ago. The lion was lured out of Hwange park and first wounded with a bow and arrow before being tracked down and shot, according to conservationists in Zimbabwe. Palmer has said he relied on his professional guides to ensure his hunt was legal.
Two Zimbabwean citizens were arrested and face charges in the case in which Palmer has been implicated.
On Saturday, Zimbabwe's wildlife authority said it had suspended the hunting of lions, leopards and elephants in the Hwange area. Bow and arrow hunts were also suspended and can only be approved by the head of the wildlife authority.
___
Contributors include Christopher Torchia in Johannesburg, Kristen De Groot and Ron Todt in Philadelphia and Zach Brendza in Murrysville, Pennsylvania.
Zimbabwe wants Walter Palmer extradited in killing of Cecil the lion
Jul 31, 2015 2:40 PM ET
Zimbabwean Minister of Environment, Water and Climate Oppah Muchinguri spoke to reporters in Harare on Friday. Zimbabwe intends to seek the extradition of an American dentist who killed a lion that was lured out of a national park and killed, she said.
The American dentist who killed Cecil the lion a month ago in Zimbabwe paid for an illegal hunt and should be extradited to the southern African nation to face justice, Zimbabwe's environment minister said on Friday.
In a news conference, Oppah Muchinguri referred to 55-year-old Walter Palmer as a "foreign poacher," and said she understood that Zimbabwe's prosecutor general had started the process to have him extradited from the United States.
"We are appealing to the responsible authorities for his extradition to Zimbabwe so that he can be held accountable for his illegal action," she said.
Muchinguri also said Palmer's use of a bow and arrow to kill the lion, who is said to have been lured out of Hwange National Park with bait before being shot, was in contravention of Zimbabwean hunting regulations.
Cecil the lion slaying triggers probe by U.S. agency
Palmer has admitted killing the 13-year-old predator, a favourite with foreign tourists and the subject of an Oxford University study, but said he had hired professional guides and believed all the necessary hunting permits were in order.
The Minnesota dentist and trophy hunter has not been seen since his identity was revealed this week by Zimbabwean conservationists, but the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said Friday afternoon it was contacted by a representative of Palmer.
The agency is investigating the killing to see if it was part of a conspiracy to violate U.S. laws against illegal wildlife trading.
In Washington, a Zimbabwean diplomat said the embassy was not aware that extradition proceedings had been initiated by his government.
Richard Chibuwe, deputy chief of the mission, said Zimbabwe takes the case very seriously and noted that two Zimbabwean men face court proceedings for helping Palmer.
On Wednesday, a Zimbabwean court charged local professional hunter Theo Bronkhorst with failing to prevent Palmer from unlawfully killing Cecil.
"People really feel strongly that he must also face trial," Chibuwe said of Palmer.
The U.S. Justice Department said it does not comment on extradition requests. Palmer must be charged in Zimbabwe before he can be extradited.
Palmer, a life-long big game hunter, managed to return to the United States before the authorities were aware of the controversy around Cecil's death.
"It was too late to apprehend the foreign poacher because he had already absconded to his country of origin," Muchinguri said.
Legal, political hurdles
The killing has sparked social media outrage against Palmer in the United States. The White House said on Thursday it would review a public petition of more than 100,000 signatures to have him extradited.
Lawyer Alec Muchadehama said no American had been extradited to Zimbabwe since the treaty was signed, and that Harare would face legal and political hurdles with Palmer.
First, it has to apply to U.S. courts and satisfy them that Palmer committed an offence and that he would be jailed for more than a year if convicted. Courts in Zimbabwe consider a fine first for lion poachers before imposing a jail term, he said.
"They [U.S. courts] may actually doubt the competence of the judiciary here to try him in an objective manner, particularly given these prejudicial pronouncements that the politicians are already making," said Muchadehama.
Money pours in
A pair of U.S. philanthropists with a passion for wild cats pledged Friday to match new donations to Oxford University's Wildlife Conservation Unit — the researchers who were tracking the movements of Cecil the lion in Zimbabwe.
Tom Kaplan, a natural resource investor whose net worth was put by Forbes magazine at $1 billion US, and his wife, Daphne, will match donations made after 3 p.m. GMT Friday up to a total value of $100,000.
The Kaplans hope to help the Oxford researchers raise half a million pounds to further their work.
"We have to seize this moment where we can all make a difference," Tom Kaplan said in a statement, adding that if the "death of Cecil can lead to the saving of many more lions, then some good can come from tragedy."
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