MARCO ISLAND, Florida: Police in southwest Florida say vandals spray painted the words “lion killer” on the garage door of the vacation home owned by a Minnesota dentist who has been identified as the hunter who killed Cecil the lion in Zimbabwe.

Marco Island police Capt. David Baer says the vandals also left at least seven pickled pigs’ feet on the driveway of Walter Palmer’s $1.1 million home. Baer says police have opened an investigation.

A hand-made sign criticizing Palmer was left in the yard last week. A security company has been hired to protect the property.

Officials in Zimbabwe have said they’ll seek the extradition of Palmer, alleging he lacked authorization to kill Cecil last month. Palmer has said he relied on professional guides to ensure his hunting was legal.

On Wednesday, two professional hunters appeared in a court, each accused in separate cases of helping Americans kill lions.

A professional hunter who helped an American kill a popular lion named Cecil in an allegedly illegal hunt near Hwange National Park in western Zimbabwe on Wednesday dismissed the case against him as “frivolous.”

Wearing sunglasses and a camouflage cap and jacket, Theo Bronkhorst appeared in a court in Hwange town, where he faces charges of failing to prevent an unlawful hunt. If convicted, he faces up to 15 years in prison.

Givemore Muvhiringi, Bronkhorst’s lawyer, asked for the trial to be postponed to Sept. 28 so he can prepare the case. The prosecution did not object and Magistrate Lindiwe Maphosa approved the postponement in a court session that lasted only a few minutes.

“I think it’s frivolous and I think it’s wrong,” Bronkhorst told journalists when asked about the charges against him. He said he believed he had not done anything illegal.

Bronkhorst said hunting is “an integral part of our country and it’s got to continue and if we do not use wildlife sustainably, there will be no wildlife.”

Bronkhorst assisted Walter James Palmer, a Minnesota dentist and bow hunter who killed Cecil in early July.