Voices: Cecil the lion's death is everyone's loss

LONDON — Growing up in Zimbabwe in southern Africa, I was always awestruck by the country's majestic wildlife, and I am opposed to hunting purely for sport.

Elephants, rhinos, zebras and various species of antelope were regular sights on visits to game parks on school trips and on family outings.

I'll never forget the day when my elementary class visited the local vet to see an injured wild dog that had been brought in for treatment — a rare event in the country's second-largest city, Bulawayo.

So like many others, I was shocked and upset to learn that Cecil, a majestic lion at the Hwange National Park — the largest game park in Zimbabwe — was killed for sport by a dentist from Minnesota.

The Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force said that Walter James Palmer of Eden Prairie, Minn., paid at least $50,000 to track and kill Cecil, who was part of an Oxford University research program. It said Cecil was lured out of the safety of the park with bait, then apparently wounded with a crossbow, tracked for 40 hours and finally shot dead.

A professional hunter and the owner of the farm where Cecil was killed have appeared in a Zimbabwean court in relation to his death. Zimbabwean officials say they are looking for Palmer.

In a statement, the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority said investigations suggest the killing was illegal because the land owner was not allocated a lion on his 2015 hunting quota.

As the regulatory authority and "custodian of all wild animals in Zimbabwe," the authority said it issues hunting permits and quotas, and that only animals on a quota can be hunted. "In this case, both the professional hunter and land owner had no permit or quota to justify the offtake of the lion and therefore are liable for the illegal hunt," the statement added.

Wildlife watchers know that lions — especially the males, who spend most of their time concealed in the long Savannah grass rather than hunting — are a treasured sight to behold in the wild. I have no doubt that Cecil delighted many, just with his presence.

Palmer issued a statement Tuesday, saying he relied on his local guides to ensure a legal hunt, and had "no idea" that the lion "was a known, local favorite," CBS reported.

Cecil's death has been greeted with outrage on Facebook and Twitter, including by many Zimbabweans.

Although Cecil's death appears to have broken the law, the legal trophy-hunting industry does have its supporters. They say part of the huge sums hunters pay to kill animals are reinvested in conserving these magnificent creatures and creating jobs for local people.

As anger grows, more than 370,000 people have signed a petition calling on Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe's government to stop issuing hunting permits to kill endangered animals.

Started by a Care2 Petition user called Ruth McD, the document says: "The legend of Cecil started about three and a half years ago, when the then-10-year-old lion was kicked out of his pride, beaten by younger, more powerful males. Hunters argue that as loners, prideless male lions aren't as important to sustaining lion populations. But Cecil wasn't finished. He soon teamed up with another lone male named Jericho, and the lions regained control of the region's two prides, one of which consists of three lionesses and seven cubs under seven months old."

The petition says that with Cecil gone, Jericho won't be able to defend the prides and cubs from other males, and the cubs will most likely be killed.

Ultimately, as is often the case among humans, Cecil's death has led to an uncertain future for his entire family. And while Cecil's needless death appears to be illegal, I'd like to go a step further and see all trophy hunting outlawed.

USA TODAY Deputy World Editor Onyanga-Omara is based in London