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Walter Palmer

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Outlaw

The Resume

    Born in United States
    Resides in Bloomington, Minnesota
    Dentist, recreational 'big-game' Hunter
    Former owner of the 'River Bluff Dental' practice based out of Bloomington
    Experienced worldwide backlash for killing famed Zimbabwean lion, Cecil on the outskirts of the Hwange National Park (Jul. 1, 2015)
    Reportedly paid $50,000 to a professional hunter, Theo Bronkhorst, to enable him to kill the lion
    Proceedings initiated by Zimbabwe politicians to extradite Palmer from the United States to face poaching charges, after Zimbabwean hunters involved in the killing were arrested and charged (Jul. 31, 2015)
    Petition urging Secretary of State John Kerry and Attorney General Loretta Lynch to extradite Walker Palmer to Zimbabwe garners 160,000 signatures, prompting an official response from the White House

Why he might be annoying:

    He's a dentist. 'Nuff said.
    He pissed off Jane Goodall and Betty White.
    He was placed on probation after lying to officials about whether he shot and killed a Wisconsin black bear outside of an authorized zone (2008).
    He faced a sexual harassment lawsuit when a patient and former employee accused him of making inappropriate comments about her genitalia, breasts, and buttocks, and then firing her when she tried to report him. He settled a corrective action with the board and his insurer paid $127,500 to his accuser (2009).
    His apology indicated that he was more sorry about having been identified as the killer of a nationally-beloved lion as opposed to a more low-profile one.
    His dental practice’s Yelp page went from 4 reviews to over 6,000 within 24 hours (most of them negative).
    His membership was revoked by Safari Club International, who released a statement saying 'those who intentionally take wildlife illegally should be prosecuted and punished to the maximum extent allowed by law.'
    The news of his complicity in the killing came at the same time news emerged of Planned Parenthood officials marketing fetal body parts for profit, leading many to claim that those outraged about the dead lion were condoning Planned Parenthood's actions (apparently people can't be angry about both).
    The outrage was less over the killing than over the gruesome details of it, which involved luring him out of his sanctuary with an animal carcass, wounding him with an arrow, and then putting him out of his misery with a bullet 40 hours later (then proceeding to skin him, decapitate him and leave the body after removing traces of their involvement).

Why he might not be annoying:

    He allegedly learned to hunt at the age of 5.
    He was forced into shutting down his Dentistry practice due to the negative backlash.
    He has reportedly been very attentive in helping to find his patients other sources of dental treatment in his absence.
    He received an avalanche of hate messages and death threats on social media.
    PeTA actually called for him to be extradited and 'hopefully hanged' in a public statement.
    Robert Mugabe cost easily more lives over the course of 25 years than he did.
    As such, many Zimbabwean locals haven't shown to be nearly as emotional about the matter as many in the international community have been.
    He was more apologetic than 'animal rights activist' Damian Aspinall whose actions cost the lives of several endangered species of gorillas.
    His role in the death of Cedric the Lion opened an interesting discussion about banning Americans from bringing trophy animals they have killed in foreign countries back to the US.
    He claimed that he mistakenly thought his kill was legal, and judging by the fact that tourists who pay money for guided hunting safaris rarely know the laws of the land he's hunting in, it is possible that he was telling the truth.

Credit: BoyWiththeGreenHair


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    For 2024, as of last weekly ranking, Out of 5 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2023, Out of 172 Votes: 68.02% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 4 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 14 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 5 Votes: 80.0% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 20 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 31 Votes: 48.39% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 16 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 55 Votes: 60.0% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 123 Votes: 58.54% Annoying