Cara Delevingne, Ricky Gervais and Sharon Osborne are among the celebrities who have expressed their outrage at the shooting of Cecil the Lion by American dentist Walter Palmer.

Walter paid £35,000 to hunt Cecil in Zimbabwe earlier this month. The 13-year-old lion was renowned in Zimbabwe for his friendliness, but was shot to death by the American, who was accompanied by local guides.

Since then, Twitter has exploded in anger, and celebrities have taken to the social networking site to express their anger at the hunter and sadness at the loss of Cecil.

Walter has defended the hunt, claiming he did not know Cecil was a protected or famous animal. He argued that he believed the hunt was legal, saying: “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.”

Stuffed animals on the doorstep of Dr Walter Palmer's dentist office
Stuffed animals on the doorstep of Dr Walter Palmer’s dentist office (Scott Takushi/AP)

His dentist’s office in Minnesota has since been inundated with stuffed lions, angry phone calls, and negative online reviews.