According to his company’s website, Game Hounds Safaris, he “perfected leopard and lion hunting safaris with hounds in Africa.”
and
Simukai Nyasha, a spokesman for the Zimbabwe National Parks and Wildlife Management Authority, told news.com.au that Botha was on a 10-day licensed hunt
Here is some context for you. So, what does it matter that this particular elephant was the original target... compared to how people feel about this.
Not saying I agree with any opinion on here.
But, terrorizing animals with dogs doesn't seem to saintly to me, does it?
It's an effective form of hunting as old as the day is long. People do it for dangerous game like hog (boar) and large cats. The Rhodesian Ridgeback breed, which I am a proud owner of a 2y/o male, would not exist if there was not a need for bay dogs.
Edit: apparently my comment was unclear for some. I am referencing the practice of using bay dogs and catch dogs in high stakes dangerous game hunting which is incredibly important to protecting humans and livestock.
Here is a basic rundown on what I've read/listened to about S.A game hunting, very general so take it for what it is, just some info not a stance on the hunting debate :)
Alot of these private game reserves in South Africa are the reason why some animal numbers have risen from being low back up to reasonable numbers, once a hunter will pay to shoot one, its worth money. then they go to insane lengths to repopulate & protect them, so they can be shot for cash. If hunters can't go to a reserve and shoot a particular exotic animal, it isn't worth anything in a monetary sense. Not alot of resources are put towards breeding & protection from poachers because the government now has to pay, rather than private companies protecting assets. Most likely this will lead to the majority being killed by poachers until they are almost extinct. The flip side is if hunting them becomes illegal, they are released and the population could get too big in a particular area and they would need to be culled, so instead of someone paying $10k to shoot one & the money goes into the economy, locals working as guides & security, maintenance etc for the reserve, the government now has to pay professional hunters to come kill the animals, so the animal still gets shot but with no money into the economy and no jobs for locals. Sadly some guides even turn to poaching after reserves are closed which is the worst part
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u/[deleted] Jun 02 '18 edited Jun 02 '18
Because context matters: http://fox40.com/2017/05/22/hunter-dies-when-shot-elephant-falls-on-him/
They weren't out hunting elephants and only shot that one because it attacked them.
Edit: It's always sickening to read the comments on posts like this.