Zimbabwe lifts ban on big-game hunting

A week after Zimbabwean authorities suspended big-game hunting in the area in which it said two lions were illegally hunted, the government announced it had lifted the ban.

Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority said in a statement today that the suspension “has been lifted with immediate effect.”

The suspension was announced last week for the hunting of some species around Hwange National Park after authorities accused a Minnesota dentist and a doctor from Murrysville of participating in illegal lion hunting.

Dr. Jan Seski, who has offices in Oakland and West Mifflin, has said through his lawyer that he was not in Zimbabwe in April, when authorities said he was part of an illegal hunt. He said he participated in a legal hunt in July.

Also today, Zimbabwe banned the hunting of collared animals and said those involved in illegal hunts would be banned from hunting for life.

The lion killed by Walter Palmer, the dentist from Minnesota, was wearing a satellite collar so that he could be followed by a team of wildlife researchers in an Oxford University study.

Zimbabwean wildlife authorities announced a new rule on big-game hunting.

“All lion, leopard and elephant hunts should be accompanied by parks staff whose costs will be met by the landowner,” wildlife authorities said in a statement. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette/AP