World News for Students of English

03-08-2015 15:00

A US dentist who killed a lion in Zimbabwe says he regrets shooting the well-known animal.

In a written statement, Walter Palmer insists that he thought he was on a legal hunt and that he “deeply regrets” his actions.

Cecil the lion, known for his black mane, was about 13 years old, and a famous attraction for wildlife tourists in Zimbabwe. But earlier this month, it’s understood the big cat was tempted outside a national park using bait and allegedly shot with a bow and arrow by Palmer.

“Cecil was collared. You may want to know what that means. Collared is an animal which is under surveillance and a GPS system which is being used for research, for different things…”

Wildlife officials accused Mr Palmer of killing Cecil, without a permit, after paying $50,000 to two people who lured the beast to its death.

“The person involved, or the offender, is a gentleman who is an American called Walter James Palmer. Walter James Palmer is the guy who came into the country around the beginning of this month of July and was enticed, we’re not quite sure yet, to harvest this particular lion. The proper market value for this lion, which is a big treasure, would be around $100,000 US dollars.”

Police in Zimbabwe say two people have been arrested and that Mr Palmer may also face poaching charges. If convicted, the two men would be required to pay $20,000 in compensation, but the court may impose an additional jail term.

According to the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority, investigations show that the killing of Cecil was illegal because the land owner was not allocated a lion on his hunting quota for 2015.

Lions are not a protected species in Zimbabwe. The country issues annual permits allowing foreign hunters to kill wildlife like elephant, buffalo and lion, and say doing so allows it to raise money for conservation.

Difficult words: regret (to be sorry), insist (to say that something is true), mane (the long hair around a lion’s face), allegedly (according to what people say), lure (to make somebody do something), entice (to interest), harvest (to hunt), impose (to make somebody do something), allocated (given), conservation (the protection of animals or plants).

Source: www.ondemandnews.com