The Eden Prairie dentist who killed a famed lion while on a safari hunt in Zimbabwe last month, setting off a global furor, has gained Halloween immortality.
A costume maker in Southern California is selling a get-up of Dr. Walter Palmer, lion's head and bogus blood included, for $59.99 plus shipping and taxes.
The seller at Costumeish.com describes Palmer's bow-and-arrow conquering of Cecil as the year's "most controversial killing" while labeling his detractors as "an outraged mob."
The "Cecil Lion Killer Dentist Costume" features a mask of the severed lion's head and fake blood on gloves and a white doctor's smock. A crest on the smock reads, "Dr. Killer Driller: Agonizing Pain Guaranteed."
Johnathon Weeks, co-founder of Costumeish.com's parent company, Brands on Sale, said the costume went on sale Tuesday and he's hoping to sell thousands in the coming weeks.
Weeks said previous creations have include those depicting Ebola patients and workers who were trapped in a Chilean mine several years ago.
"We follow the trends of whatever is going on in the media," said Weeks, who added that his online business sells millions of costumes every year. "They keep the dialogue going on tragic events."
Weeks added that $7.50 from each sale will go to a wildlife foundation. He said the nonprofit asked that its identity not be publicized out of concern for a public backlash.
