"Cecil" the Zimbabween Lion and the illegality of a contract with a poacher

 

Palmer's argument is fundamentally flawed - you cannot make a legal contract with a poacher. You can make a legal agreement with a Gamekeeper or a Ranger. Palmer participated in enticing any lion from a reservation which is the actus reus of the crime. Moreover, whilst Palmer might get away with saying he did not KNOW the lion was Cecil, the poachers probably are not afforded the same argument - they would have known because the lion was famous. The loose end appears to me... to be the price paid £36,000. What is the going rate among poachers to kill a lion poached from a reserve. If £36,000 is substantially higher then Palmer intended to kill Cecil and he was the trophy he wanted. There is no legality in any of Palmer's and the poachers activity so they should receive the full 15 year sentence. Ignorance of the law is not an excuse in most legal jurisdictions.  He appears to be admitting 4 hunts, the details of which I have no doubt will be illuminating under cross-examination and he has already been processed in Wisconsin in the USA for illegality - guess he never learned his lesson or decided to try his luck in foreign lands.

The logic and rational above should mean that lions and other species are protected from poachers especially if there is a judgment and ratio decidendi in that regard, so Cecil may have a final roar as a famous lion not just in Zimbabwee but all around the world.  I reiterate - you cannot make a legal contract with a poacher!

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jul/29/cecil-the-lion-calls-for-prosecution-us-dentist-walter-palmer?CMP=share_btn_fb