Trophy Hunter Paid $50,000 To Kill Botswana's Largest Tusker

A professional trophy hunter paid $50,000 for the 'privilege' of killing the largest 'tusker' in Botswana.

Leon Kachelhoffer claims he killed the big tusker, which was carrying 200lb (91kg) of ivory, on the country's northern border with Namibia. One tusk weighed almost 100lb. 

The elephant who was in its 50s was shot for its near 8-foot long tusks. The hunters also posed along with the tusks creating a lot of outrage. 

The hunter also reposted the controversial hunt and the conquest leading to it. He even appeared on a podcast to talk about the same. He said in the podcast, "That wasn't one of the things I was thinking about."

Facebook

He added: "To be in a position to hunt a bull like that, it's an incredible privilege. When you take a bull like that, there's a lot of remorse, there's a lot of sadness, you think about the great life that this elephant has led. 'You know, there's more to it than shooting a bull, taking a photograph, becoming a hero and all this other nonsense."

Former Botswana president Ian Khama slammed this hunt. He had imposed a trophy hunting ban across the country in 2014. But the ban was scrapped three years ago by successor Mokgweetsi Masisi to "manage human-wildlife conflicts".

He posted on Facebook next to an image of the slain elephant: "This was one of the largest if not the largest tusker in the country. An elephant that tour operators constantly tried to show tourists as an iconic attraction. Now it is dead. 'How does it being dead benefit our declining tourism [industry]? Incompetence and poor leadership have almost wiped out the rhino population, and now this!"

AFP

H/T: Metro.co.uk

Botswana has some 130,000 elephants, the world's largest population.

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