MINNEAPOLIS — Zimbabwe will not charge Minnesota dentist Walter Palmer for killing its most prized lion, “Cecil,” in July because he had obtained legal authority to conduct the hunt, a Cabinet minister said Monday.

“It turned out that Palmer came to Zimbabwe because all the papers were in order,” Environment Minister Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri told reporters, saying the dentist could not be charged. “We are now going to review how we issue hunting quotas.” A spokesman for Palmer said that the doctor would not comment. Joe Friedberg, an attorney advising Palmer, said last month that he doubted the dentist would be charged in Zimbabwe. Muchinguri-Kashiri said that Palmer can now safely return to Zimbabwe as a “tourist,” but not for hunting.

Palmer, 55, had been out of public view since late July, when a London newspaper revealed he killed the lion with a bow and arrow in what Zimbabwe authorities had alleged was an illegal hunt earlier in the summer. He has since returned to his practice.