BBC Homepage
  • Skip to content
  • Accessibility Help
  • Your account
  • Notifications
  • Home
  • News
  • Sport
  • Weather
  • iPlayer
  • Sounds
  • Bitesize
  • CBBC
  • CBeebies
  • Food
  • More menu
More menu
Search BBC
  • Home
  • News
  • Sport
  • Weather
  • iPlayer
  • Sounds
  • Bitesize
  • CBBC
  • CBeebies
  • Food
Close menu
BBC News
Menu
  • Home
  • InDepth
  • Israel-Gaza war
  • War in Ukraine
  • Climate
  • UK
  • World
  • Business
  • Politics
  • Culture
More
  • Tech
  • Science
  • Health
  • Family & Education
  • In Pictures
  • Newsbeat
  • BBC Verify
  • Disability
  • Trending

How the internet descended on the man who killed Cecil the lion

  • Published
    29 July 2015
Share page
About sharing
A parody Twitter account for Walter Palmer's dental practice has been set up to mock the dentistImage source, @RiverBlufDental
Image caption,

A parody Twitter account has been set up to mock Mr Palmer

ByBBC Trending
What's popular and why

Social-media users have gone into overdrive in an attempt to shame the man who has admitted to killing Cecil the lion.

There was a global outcry when Walter Palmer, a dentist from Minnesota, admitted to killing Zimbabwe's most famous lion on a hunting trip. He has now been swamped with abuse and dark humour from web users around the world.

Hundreds of - predominantly one-star - reviews have appeared on the Google page for Palmer's dental practice. "Coward" and "Bloodthirsty trophy hunter", they say. "He lured me into his dental practice, then shot me with a bow and arrow," another jokes. The same is happening on Yelp, despite the best efforts of the site to cull the bogus reviews. "Yelp, keep deleting... I'll keep reposting... I have ALL DAY," reads one, adding: "shame on you Walter Palmer". The Facebook page for his practice suffered a similar fate, before being shut down.

A tweet reading "We appreciate all the support during our time of struggle. Keep it coming! Thanks for sticking with us!"Image source, @RiverBlufDental
Image caption,

This tweet from a parody account used a real picture taken outside Mr Palmer's practice

A parody Twitter account was created in the name of Palmer's practice - River Bluff Dental - to mock the dentist, and fooled members of the baying mob. "Less negativity! More positivity please!" read one tweet, accompanied with a #LionsLivesMatter hashtag. "Are you trying to make light of the death of a legendary lion?" asked one of many users who thought the account was real.

Now a petition demanding "Justice for Cecil", created prior to Palmer's admission and requesting the President of Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe, stop issuing hunting licences, has now soared past 300,000 signatures. Recent signatories are directing their ire at the dentist, regardless. "Make an example of this dentist," wrote one British signatory.

A tweet by Ricky Gervais reading 'I'm struggling to imagine anything more beautiful than this' with an image of a lion.Image source, @rickygervais

The hashtag #CecilTheLion, external has appeared almost 250,000 times in the past 24 hours on Twitter, as the topic trended worldwide. A single tweet, external from Ricky Gervais has been retweeted and favourited more than 40,000 times.

A tweet by Ricky Gervais reading "What must've happened to you in your life to make you want to kill a beautiful animal & then lie next to it smiling?"Image source, @RickyGervais

The comedian has long been is a vocal supporter of animal rights, on the social network. In April, he tweeted an image, external of Rebecca Francis, who hosts an American television programme called Eye of the Hunter, lying next to a dying giraffe. Both Francis and Palmer have received a slew of death threats on social media.

The dentist said he had not realised Cecil had been a "local favourite" and now "regrets" killing the the lion, adding that to his knowledge everything about the trip had been legal and properly handled and conducted.

Next story: 'You stink': The fight to get rubbish off Beirut's streets

Translation: This is what planes will look like at the Rubbish International Airport #YouStinkImage source, Twitter
Image caption,

The tweet reads: "This is what planes will look like at the Rubbish International Airport #YouStink"

The stench rising from rubbish piled up on the streets of Beirut has become so bad that an online campaign telling the government: "You Stink" is now trending online. READ MORE

You can follow BBC Trending on Twitter @BBCtrending, external, and find us on Facebook, external. All our stories are at bbc.com/trending.

Top stories

  • Live. 

    Israel approves Trump’s plan for Gaza ceasefire and hostage release

    • 5839 viewing5.8k viewing
  • Jeremy Bowen: There's now a realistic chance of ending the war - but it's not over yet

    • Published
      8 hours ago
  • How Trump secured a Gaza breakthrough which eluded Biden

    • Published
      2 hours ago

More to explore

  • Tech billionaires seem to be doom prepping. Should we all be worried?

    Mark Zuckerberg's eyes looking worried
  • Weekly quiz: What did Queen Camilla say about Jilly Cooper?

    Jilly Cooper listening to Queen Camilla telling a story
  • Young children taking knives to school, BBC finds

    Graphic: Knives in foreground, in background children sitting at school desks.
  • 'It was like a movie' - How immigration raid on Chicago apartments unfolded

    Image of law enforcement officer pointing a gun, with sparks in the background
  • Inside the room where Nobel Peace Prize is decided – but will Trump get his wish?

    Members of the Nobel Peace Prize committee and secretary sit around a table in the room where they make their decision
  • 'I missed a £100 council tax bill while in hospital – the debt ballooned to £6k'

    A young man, with long dark brown hair and a brown beard and moustache , sits next to a hospital bed. He has a bandage on his neck.
  • My eating disorder made me good at lying, says Victoria Beckham

    Victoria Beckham waves while wearing a white suit with other people in the background as she attends the Victoria Beckham premiere in London on Wednesday.
  • The battle for Scotland's flag: Why the right has adopted the saltire

    A man raises his fist while standing in front of a group of people waving flags, including saltires and a union flag.
  • The Upbeat newsletter: Start your week on a high with uplifting stories delivered to your inbox

    A graphic of a wave in the colours of yellow, amber and orange against a pink sky
loading elsewhere stories

Most read

  1. 1

    Tech billionaires seem to be doom prepping. Should we all be worried?

  2. 2

    Man who appealed Pelicot rape conviction handed longer jail term

  3. 3

    Man re-arrested over Manchester synagogue attack

  4. 4

    How Trump secured a Gaza breakthrough which eluded Biden

  5. 5

    Celebrity Traitors episode two was as killer as Tom Daley's side-eye

  6. 6

    Sunak joins Microsoft and AI firm as paid adviser

  7. 7

    Former Radio 1 DJ Tim Westwood charged with four counts of rape

  8. 8

    Naked mole rats' DNA could hold key to long life

  9. 9

    What we know about the Gaza ceasefire deal

  10. 10

    Five ways abolishing stamp duty could change the housing market

BBC News Services

  • On your mobile
  • On smart speakers
  • Get news alerts
  • Contact BBC News

The Celebrity Traitors

  • An all-star cast enters the ultimate game of deceit

    • Attribution
      iPlayer

    Added to Watchlist
    The Celebrity Traitors has been added to your iPlayer Watchlist.
    The Celebrity Traitors
  • All the betrayal and drama unpacked

    • Attribution
      iPlayer

    Added to Watchlist
    The Celebrity Traitors: Uncloaked has been added to your iPlayer Watchlist.
    The Celebrity Traitors: Uncloaked
  • Meet the Celebrity Traitors as the mind games begin

    • Attribution
      iPlayer

    Added to Watchlist
    The Celebrity Traitors has been added to your iPlayer Watchlist.
    The Celebrity Traitors
  • A treacherously good version of a pop classic

    • Attribution
      iPlayer

    Added to Watchlist
    BBC Proms has been added to your iPlayer Watchlist.
    BBC Proms 2025: Britney Spears
  • Home
  • News
  • Sport
  • Weather
  • iPlayer
  • Sounds
  • Bitesize
  • CBBC
  • CBeebies
  • Food
  • Terms of Use
  • About the BBC
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookies
  • Accessibility Help
  • Parental Guidance
  • Contact the BBC
  • Make an editorial complaint
  • BBC emails for you

Copyright © 2025 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.