A White House petition requesting that dentist Walter Palmer, who killed a prized lion in Zimbabwe, be extradited to the African nation to face justice should receive a response from the Obama administration.
The petition needed to receive 100,000 signatures by August 27 to get a response. It had more than 146,000 signatures as of Thursday evening.
“We urge the Secretary of State John Kerry and the Attorney General Loretta Lynch to fully cooperate with the Zimbabwe authorities and to extradite Walter Palmer promptly at the Zimbabwe government’s request,” the petition said.
CNN reported that Palmer, a dentist from Minneapolis, Minnesota, killed Cecil the Lion earlier this month. Since news of the killing sparked international outrage Palmer has been nowhere to be found.
Palmer is in the public crosshairs after the Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force said Cecil was lured out of an animal sanctuary in Zimbabwe and shot with a crossbow.
“He is alleged to have lured Cecil from the safety of the national park to kill him. Two of Palmer’s local accomplices are already in custody. Zimbabwe authorities now actively seeking Palmer in connection with this incident,” according to the White House petition.
It is not clear when the White House will respond.