Charges dropped over Cecil the lion’s hunter

A Zimbabwean court has dropped charges against a man accused of failing to stop an American hunter killing Cecil the lion.

Walter Palmer, a lifelong big-game hunter from the US state of Minnesota, caused global controversy when he killed Cecil, a rare black-maned lion, with a bow and arrow outside Hwange National Park in western Zimbabwe in July 2015.

While Zimbabwean authorities said Mr Palmer had legal authority to hunt, they were stung by the international outcry and charged local hunter Theo Bronkhorst, who assisted Palmer, with failing to prevent an unlawful hunt.

Mr Bronkhorst's lawyers then applied to the High Court to set aside the charge, arguing it could not have been an offence under the country's wildlife laws if Mr Palmer had a permit to hunt.

"The court granted us that prayer yesterday…that the charges be quashed. So I cannot imagine the state coming back again charging him with the same charge," Lovemore Muvhiringi, a lawyer for Mr Bronkhorst, said.

Cecil had been fitted with a collar to track his movements but strayed outside the confines of Hwange National Park and was then shot.

Mr Bronkhorst was accused of laying bait to lure Cecil out of the park.

Mr Palmer claimed at the time that no one in his hunting party realised the targeted lion was Cecil.

The verdict has triggered a global outcry, with many expressing disapproval on social media.   

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Wildlife hunting is an important revenue source for the southern African country, which is grappling with its worst shortage of cash since it dumped its inflation-ravaged currency in favour of the US dollar in 2009.