A Syrian migrant family has come to the aid of Walter Palmer, the Minnesotan dentist who shot and killed Cecil the lion. The Algafari family announced last Saturday that it would take in Palmer, along with his wife and daughter, despite fears that they do not have sufficient resources to host them.

The dentist arrived in Europe two weeks ago in an attempt to escape criticism for killing Zimbabwe’s most beloved lion last July. However, despite making it as far as the Austrian border, he was unable to escape the vitriolic twitter feed from #WalterPalmer, where he has been called “A poor excuse of a human being,” “A killer” and “Satan”.

Whether or not Palmer’s asylum with the Algafari family will work as a temporary solution remains to be seen. But for now at least, the Algafaris are happy Palmer is safe from harm. Speaking on behalf of the family, Mohammad Algafari explained their reasons for taking in Palmer: “We can empathise with his situation. We are both escaping persecution. The Assad regime has afflicted many atrocities on us, but Twitter can be very nasty too. Especially when celebrities like Cara Delevingne, Alyssa Milano and Sharon Osbourne come after you.”

The Palmers, who have been camping with the Algafaris since Sunday, have appeared to integrate well into their new situation. “Walter is not a bad guy,” said Mohammad. “He has helped us with our asylum application to Germany and he gave my wife Maya a free root canal.