Theodore Bronkhorst, the professional hunter who allegedly helped American dentist Walter Palmers kill the famous Zimbabwean lion, Cecil, has pleaded not guilty to the charges brought against him.
Bronkhorst was said to have assisted the doctor in the act, for a fee of $50,000, by luring the lion out of the Hwange National Park, a protected area, before butchering it in July.
He was charged on Monday with assisting an illegal hunt and not preventing an illegal.
When journalists accosted him just after the court session and asked him if he was innocent, Bronkhorst said, “Absolutely; I still believe in the sustainable use of wildlife and I believe that at the end of the day wildlife must be the winner.”
If convicted, he faces up to $20,000 dollars in fines and up to 10 years in jail.
Just recently, on September 14, Bronkhorst was again arrested for allegedly trying to smuggle sable antelopes into South Africa.