Kiwis staging peaceful protest in Minnesota

A Kiwi mum and her two children living in Minnesota have staged a peaceful protest against the man who hunted and killed Zimbabwe's beloved lion Cecil.

Hayley Hoppe, originally from Auckland, along with her two children Piper, 10, and Paisley, 9, went to Walter Palmer's dental surgery office in Bloomington, Minnesota.

The office has been shut since his identity was revealed yesterday but protesters have flocked there, as world outrage about the killing grows.

Armed with posters reading, "Dr Palmer why did you kill Cecil?", the children stood for two hours overnight as a peaceful protest.

Piper said she was upset about Cecil's death.

"I felt disgusted and mad at Dr Palmer to kill an animal like that," she told NZME News Service from the United States.

"I wanted to give a voice to animals who can't speak for themselves."

Mrs Hoppe said she was proud of her two daughters and they spoke to reporters crowding the dentist's office.

"We get the girls involved in current affairs and when I told them about Cecil being killed, they weren't happy," she told NZME.

"We weren't doing it about Palmer, we were doing it for Cecil."

She said she had always been an "advocate" and wanted to teach her children to stand up for what is right.

"As Kiwis we are scrappers."

Dr Palmer remains out of the public eye but he has issued an apology expressing regret about killing the lion.

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