Cecil the Lion’s killer part of elite hunting group

Walter Palmer, the Minnesota dentist who killed the beloved Cecil the Lion, questioned his patients to stick by his side Wednesday as it was revealed the thrill-seeker has killed 43 animals as a member of an elite hunting club.

In an email to the patients of his Bloomington dental do, Palmer echoed his earlier statements that he believed the hunt was legal.

“Again, I deeply regret that my pursuit of an activity I like and do responsibly and legally resulted in the taking of this lion. That was never my intention,” he wrote in the email obtained by KMSP..

Palmer also confessed to his deadly passion for the first time to some of his patients.

“To my valued patients: As you may have already heard, I have been in the news over the last few days for reasons that have nothing to do with my profession or the care I provide for you,” Palmer wrote.

“I’ve been a life-long hunter since I was a child growing up in North Dakota. I don’t often talk about hunting with my patients because it can be a divisive and emotionally exciting topic. I know and respect that not everyone shares the same views on hunting.”

Although Palmer has earned prizes and points from “conservation” groups for the slaughters, including a slot in the North American Super Slam club — a group of about two dozen hunters who have killer at least 29 big game animals — he never bragged about it to his patients.

JIMMY KIMMEL BLASTS DENTIST WHO KILLED CECIL THE LION

Using a bow and arrow, the 55-year-ancient father of two has killed a polar bear, a walrus and a wolf, among others, according to access qualifications for the Pope and Young Club.

Palmer also racked up a trophy, a “diamond” ranking and 165 points with Safari Club Global —a hunting organization of about 55,000 members — for killing a California bighorn in 2011.

Yet the Pope and Young Club stresses that animals must be killed ethically and with “honest chase.”

“He’s a very driven man … He lives an intense, quick-paced life, and hunting is a splendid passion,” his friend and fellow hunter Dennis Dunn told the Star Tribune.

AMERICAN DENTIST KILLED CECIL THE LION IN ZIMBABWE

“He’s taken all five of the perilous Huge Five of African game, including a rhinoceros, and that’s one of the most perilous animals to take with a bow and arrow.”

Earlier this month, Palmer paid $ 55,000 to a pair of local guides to kill, skin and behead the beloved Zimbabwe lion on private land further than Hwange National Park. Although Zimbabwe officials are reportedly seeking Palmer, the father-of-two denied that he has been contacted by U.S. or Zimbabwean authorities but “will help them in any inquiries they may have,” he said.

Palmer, who has not been seen in public since he was unmasked as Cecil’s killer, closed his River Bluff Dental office Tuesday as it is swarmed by media and animal activists.

“For that disruption, I apologize profoundly for this inconvenience and look excellent you that we will do our best to resume normal operations as soon as possible,” Palmer wrote to his patients.

Celebrities blasted Palmer for his disruption to the animal kingdom and did not seem to think an apology was enough.

“How dare you Walter Palmer!!! As a South African and as a human being I can’t prompt how deeply saddened I am by this, what pleasure do you get out of doing such a thing!” model Candice Swanepoel wrote on social media Tuesday.

“Walter Palmer is satan,” Sharon Osbourne said on Twitter. “I don’t know how anyone could go to this man for dental services after this. He is a killer. Beware!”

Model Cara Delevingne called Palmer a “poor defense of a human being” while Ricky Gervais, who has called out previous poachers, said Palmer must have just wanted “the thrill of killing.”

“RIP Cecil the Lion. I’m struggling to imagine anything more gorgeous than this,” Gervais said on Twitter.

Jimmy Kimmel questioned his viewers to donate to the Wildlife Conservation Research Unit that had been tracking Cecil.

Representatives for Safari Club Global and Pope and Young, of which organizations Palmer is a member, did not immediately respond to the Day after day News’ request for note.

Theo Bronchorst, Palmer’s guide, and Trymore Ndlovu, the man who owned the farm where Cecil was killed, are expected to appear in a court in Zimbabwe Wednesday.

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rblidner@nydailynews.com

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