--- description: Walter Palmer had legal authority to hunt and therefore cannot be charged, an official said. title: Dentist Won't Be Charged in Cecil the Lion's Death image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4a9c15d9ac69cfd9/698867ddcf40a88e6bc40258/walter-palmer.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Zimbabwe](/tag/zimbabwe/) ## Zimbabwe Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Zimbabwe Will Not Charge U.S. Dentist Who Killed Cecil the Lion  by [Tanya Basu](/author/tanya-basu/)  ## Tanya Basu Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 12, 2015 2:53 PM CUT  Walter Palmer arrives at the River Bluff Dental clinic in Bloomington, Minnesota, Sept. 8, 2015. Walter Palmer arrives at the River Bluff Dental clinic in Bloomington, Minnesota, Sept. 8, 2015.Reuters  by [Tanya Basu](/author/tanya-basu/)  ## Tanya Basu Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 12, 2015 2:53 PM CUT Zimbabwe’s government has announced that it will not charge the American dentist who killed Cecil the lion over the summer, because the dentist, Walter Palmer, was legally authorized to conduct the hunt. “We approached the police and then the Prosecutor General, and it turned out that Palmer came to Zimbabwe because all the papers were in order,” Environment Minister Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri said, [according to Reuters](http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/10/12/us-zimbabwe-wildlife-dentist-idUSKCN0S61G320151012 "undefined"). Palmer killed Cecil, a locally beloved lion that mostly lived on a preserve, in July after his hunting party lured the animal out of its protected home, according to conservationists. The killing sparked international outrage, and the media attention forced Palmer to temporarily close his Minnesota dental practice. “I had no idea that the lion I took was a known, local favorite, was collared and part of a study until the end of the hunt,” Palmer said shortly after news broke of Cecil’s death. “I relied on the expertise of my local professional guides to ensure a legal hunt.” Palmer could not immediately be reached for comment on Monday. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4069884/walter-palmer-dentist-cecil-lion-zimbabwe-not-charged/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4069884/walter-palmer-dentist-cecil-lion-zimbabwe-not-charged/"},"headline":"Zimbabwe Will Not Charge U.S. Dentist Who Killed Cecil the Lion","datePublished":"2015-10-12T14:53:43.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T11:42:36.210Z","description":"Cecil the lion was killed in July","url":"https://time.com/4069884/walter-palmer-dentist-cecil-lion-zimbabwe-not-charged/","keywords":["Zimbabwe","Africa","animals","cecil the lion"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4a9c15d9ac69cfd9/698867ddcf40a88e6bc40258/walter-palmer.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Tanya Basu","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/tanya-basu/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4a9c15d9ac69cfd9/698867ddcf40a88e6bc40258/walter-palmer.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Walter Palmer arrives at the River Bluff Dental clinic in Bloomington","caption":"Walter Palmer arrives at the River Bluff Dental clinic in Bloomington","creditText":"Reuters","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/zimbabwe/","name":"Zimbabwe"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4069884/walter-palmer-dentist-cecil-lion-zimbabwe-not-charged/","name":"Zimbabwe Will Not Charge U.S. Dentist Who Killed Cecil the Lion"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Know Right Now: The U.S. is Investigating Cecil The Lion's Death","description":"The U.S. government is investigating the death of Cecil the lion after allegations that he was killed illegally.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/4Y8H4bLC/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2015-07-30T06:42:48.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/4Y8H4bLC.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4069884/walter-palmer-dentist-cecil-lion-zimbabwe-not-charged/","duration":"PT1M5S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4069884/walter-palmer-dentist-cecil-lion-zimbabwe-not-charged/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```