Robert Mugabe told Zim they failed to protect lion Cecil, Grace says no to avenging him

Conservationists say that Cecil the lion's killers may be off the hook - after Grace Mugabe said the hunters should be 'left alone'.

"I say the dentist who killed the lion must be left alone," said Grace Mugabe according to the Conservation Action Trust.

She further said that the Walter Palmer,  the dentist who killed the lion, wasn't aware of its importance.

This flies in the face of what Robert Mugabe stated after Cecil was killed.

It also contradicts the words of Environment Minister Oppah Muchinguri, who has called for the lion killing dentist to be extradited.

Cecil the lion was lured out of the Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe onto a farm belonging to Honest Ndlovu by Palmer and professional Zimbabwean hunter Theo Bronkhorst, according to The Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force.

Palmer wounded Cecil with a bow and arrow, and then stalked the wounded animal for 40 hours, eventually killing it using a rifle.

Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority believes that the use of a bow and an arrow “was meant to conceal the illegal hunt by using a means that would not alert the rangers on patrol.”

Cecil was noted for being really friendly with tourists, to the point of being considered almost semi-domesticated.

Prosecutors have charged both the Brokhorst and Ndlovu for the killing.

“Only animals on quota are to be hunted,” the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority said in a statement.

“In this case, both the professional hunter and land owner had no permit or quota to justify the offtake of the lion and therefore are liable for the illegal hunt,”  the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority said in a statement.

Both Nldlovu and Brokhorst are out on bail - with the case postponed to 18 September.

Palmer meanwhile has not been charged, and is back at work in his dental practice.