A second American doctor has been accused of illegally hunting and killing lions in Zimbabwe. The South African country is now seeking the extradition of the two U.S. citizens for illegal poaching, a vice that is threatening to endanger lions in Africa.
Jan Casimir Seski from Murrysville, Pennsylvania, shot a lion in Zimbabwe, near Hwange National Park. According to a statement from Zimbabwe’s National Park and Wildlife Management Authority, the land was not demarcated as a hunting ground, making the kill illegal.
Seski managed to leave the country before he was formally charged for the incident. Zimbabwe is now requesting the extradition of Seski by the, U.S. government, to stand trial for illegal hunting.
Seski is the director at the Center for Bloodless Medicine and Surgery at the Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh. The gynocological oncologist has been described as an avid game hunter by bow-hunting sites and safari outfitters. So much so that his pictures appear in several game hunting sites alongside his many kills that include hippos, elephants, antelopes, ostriches and impalas.
Another U.S. citizen is also being sought by Zimbabwean authorities for illegal hunting. Walter James Palmer, a Minnesota dentist, is accused of killing “Cecil”, a popular lion in the south African country. Palmer allegedly slayed the animal after luring it out of Hwange Park, according to infuriated conservationists.
Palmer too was not authorized to make the kill.
In Zimbabwe, before hunters go on hunting expeditions, they are legally required to first seek the mandate of the country’s wildlife authority.
Zimbabwe Parks spokeswoman Caroline Washaya Moyo said, “When hunters come into the country they fill a document stating their personal details, the amount they have paid for the hunt, the number of animals to be hunted, the species to be hunted and the area and period where that hunt is supposed to take place. The American conducted his hunt in an area where lion hunting is outlawed. The landowner who helped him with the hunt also did not have a have a quota for lion hunting.”
There were two other illegal hunts reported in Zimbabwe last year. Seski’s kill is the most recent unauthorised hunt.
On the Facebook page of Melorani Safaris, an image was posted of Seski posing next to a dead antelope he had hunted down in 2012. The image has since been removed.
Another image, in Alaska Bowhunting Supply, shows the doctor posing next to the body of a dead elephant. The image even shares horrific details of the elephant’s brutal killing.
“The arrow was shot quartering into the elephant, penetrated a rib and one lung, lacerated the heart and liver, and was recovered in the gut. The elephant went a short distance and died.”
The U.S. government has issued a statement saying that it is investigating the two incidents and will take swift action should the two be found culpable. It remains to be seen whether the U.S. government will extradite two of its citizens, even for horrendous crimes such as illegal killing of wildlife.
Stay Connected
