A Zimbabwean game park owner has been charged over the killing of Cecil the lion.
American dentist Walter Palmer shot Cecil dead on a hunt last month after luring him into a game park owned by Honest Ndlovu.
The killing of the 13-year-old lion, who was enticed from the adjacent Hwange National Park and shot with a bow and arrow, sparked controversy around the world and triggered huge backlash against Africa’s multi-million dollar hunting industry.
A copy of the charge sheet seen by Reuters said Ndlovu was charged with “permitting a person who is not ordinarily resident in Zimbabwe to hunt the said animal which was not on the hunting quota”.
Ndlovu denies the charge and was freed on a $200 bail to return to court on September 18.
Local hunter Theo Bronkhorst, who is accused of failing to prevent Palmer from killing Cecil, appeared at the same court last week and will stand trial on September 28.
Bronkhorst acted as Palmer’s guide when the American dentist shot Cecil, who was fitted with a GPS collar as part of an Oxford University study.
Zimbabwe wants 55-year-old Palmer extradited from the United States to Zimbabwe to face trial.
