Attention, Dr. Walter Palmer: Please give the United States Government a call.
The Minnesota dentist, who admitted this week to killing Cecil the Lion during a hunting trip to Zimbabwe, is nowhere to be found. He’s gone into hiding as a result of receiving death threats.
One can’t really blame Palmer, considering PETA wants to see him hanged and Whoopi Goldberg believes he’s a murderer.
But The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service is trying to track Palmer down. It would like to have a word, or several dozen, with the wealthy hunter.
"The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service is investigating the circumstances surrounding the killing of ‘Cecil the lion.’ That investigation will take us wherever the facts lead," said Edward Grace, the agency’s deputy chief of law enforcement, in a statement.
According to Reuters, the Fish and Wildlife Service is investigating whether or not Palmer violated the Lacey Act, which makes it a federal crime to trade in wildlife killed in violation of foreign law.
The dentist, of course, paid $50,000 a few weeks ago to be led by a couple guides in Africa on a hunting expedition.
He later found out that he killed a nationally-protected animal, apologizing for his actions and saying he believed he was following all local laws and guidelines.
The illegal nature of the hunt is what drew national attention to this scandal.
But most critics are simply aghast that some rich dude spent a fortune just to kill an animal so he could mount its head in his mansion and brag about it to friends over expensive scotch.
"At this point in time, however, multiple efforts to contact Dr. Walter Palmer have been unsuccessful. We ask that Dr. Palmer or his representative contact us immediately," Grace added.
