The American dentist who killed Cecil the lion in Zimbabwe will not be charged over it, according to the country's environment minister.
Walter Palmer faced international condemnation over the hunt earlier this year.
But officials have decided he had the right paperwork to conduct it, meaning he will face no further action.
The dentist said he shot the big cat, which was fitted with a GPS collar as part of Oxford University research, using an arrow from his compound bow outside the park's borders.
He said Cecil, a rare black-maned lion, did not die immediately and was tracked down the next day before being killed with another arrow.
After he was named as the hunter who had killed Cecil, protests erupted outside the clinic in Bloomington, Minnesota and his home in Eden Prairie, and a holiday property in Florida was vandalised.
Mr Palmer told his local newspaper, The Star Tribune, he had no idea the lion was a "known, local favourite".
He said: "I hired several professional guides, and they secured all proper permits.
"To my knowledge, everything about this trip was legal and properly handled and conducted.
"I had no idea that the lion I took was a known, local favourite, was collared and part of a study until the end of the hunt. I relied on the expertise of my local professional guides to ensure a legal hunt.
"Again, I deeply regret that my pursuit of an activity I love and practice responsibly and legally resulted in the taking of this lion."
Mr Palmer's dental practice was temporarily closed as controversy over Cecil's killing raged. It reopened in late August without Mr Palmer, who described himself as "heartbroken" for causing disruption to his staff. Mr Palmer returned to work in September.
