Walter Palmer is in the unfavorable limelight again, as neighbors to Palmer's land in western Minnesota reported the dentist for allegations of illegal tactics during hunting season, according to the Minn Post. State enforcement officials are investigating claims that Palmer used his vehicle to illegally herd deer onto his land.
While hunting on property next to Palmers, Leah Thompson reported seeing several pickup trucks chasing deer on his land last weekend, herding the deer back to his property. Herding or chasing deer by vehicle is illegal in Minnesota.
"He wasn't driving, when you're driving in a gravel road you're moving, you're going to where you need to go, he just slowed way up and the next thing I know the deer turned around and back into his field," said Thompson, according to Outdoor Hub.
Thompson claims the DNR officials told her that several others had made the same complaint against Palmer. This isn't the first time, according to conservation officers, who allege there have been previous hunting disputes regarding Palmer's property.
Palmer tried to pay off guides back in 2006 to keep mum on his illegal hunting of a black bear 40 miles from where he was allowed to shoot.
"He was offering to pay, it turns out, about $20,000 to keep the others who were in the hunt, to have them lie, so that's a fairly aggressive cover-up," said U.S. Attorney John Vaudreuil, as previously reported by HNGN.
The guides refused and reported Palmer, who was arrested by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services and plead guilty to felony charges for making false statements to the service. He was also fined $2,938 with a one year probation.
Palmer received worldwide attention early this year when he paid a Hwange park ranger $55,000 for the opportunity to kill Cecil, a beloved lion wearing a radio controlled tracking collar, as HNGN previously reported. The Minnesota dentist lured the lion out of Hwange National Park before shooting him with a bow and arrow, then tracking the injured lion for 40 hours before finishing the kill.
