Photos: Two Zimbabweans Appear In Court For Helping American Dentist Kill Cecil The Lion

Two Zimbabweans accused of helping an American dentist hunt Cecil the lion have appeared in court amid growing anger over the protected animal's slaughter. Professional hunter Theo Bronkhorst (right) and local landowner Honest Ndlovu (left) allegedly assisted Dr. Walter Palmer, who has since received death threats, catch and kill the lion.

Dr Palmer claims he had trusted his local guides to meet legal guidelines on his trip to Africa, during which he shot Cecil with a crossbow on July 1 before skinning and beheading him. Continue...

The two Zimbabwean men appeared at Hwange magistrates' court charged with poaching, about 435 miles west of the capital Harare and were both released on bail of $1,000.

The Zimbabwean prosecutors' documents accuse Bronkhorst of failing to 'prevent an unlawful hunt' and documents say Bronkhorst was supervising while his client, Palmer, shot the animal. The court documents made no mention of Palmer as a suspect.

But Americans while reacting to the killing of the loved lion stormed Dr Palmer’s working place and home leaving different messages there for him. Dr Palmer’s whereabout at the moment is unknown according to reports but he has issued an apology letter which a lot of people say is not enough. See the protests in photos below;

A memorial set up for late cecil at Dr Palmer’s office in Bloomington, Minnesota, along with a sign calling the hunter a killer

 Stuffed lions were placed at Dr Palmer's house and protesters dressed as 'dentist hunters' while armed with squirt guns outside his office

Artful protest: Painter Mark Balma paints a portrait of Cecil the lion to donate to anti-poaching efforts in the parking lot of Dr. Walter Palmer's dental clinic