Outrage after hunter kills protected elephant in Botswana and claims he 'didn't see' its collar marking it as a scientific research animal

  • Animal campaigners called for hunter's licence to be revoked after the shooting
  • Elephant killed in a controlled hunting area which was issued with hunting quota
  • Hunter said collar was not visible and only became clear after animal was shot

A Botswana hunter who killed a protected elephant claimed he 'didn't see' a collar marking on the animal. 

Animal campaigners have called today for the hunter's licence to be revoked after the elephant was shot dead on November 24. 

The elephant was killed in a controlled hunting area, which had been issued with an elephant hunting quota. 

Protection row: Botswana has introduced new rules enabling elephants to be hunted legally

Protection row: Botswana has introduced new rules enabling elephants to be hunted legally

Officials confirmed that an elephant wearing a collar, which marks it as a protected animal, was killed during a legal hunt in a 'regrettable' incident which has raised tensions over the country's new hunting rules. 

The hunter said the collar had not been visible and only became clear after the animal was shot. 

However the Kalahari Conservation Society's Neil Fitt said the collar was extremely large and the hunter's explanation did not seem convincing.

Hunter said the collar had not been visible and only became clear after the animal was shot

Hunter said the collar had not been visible and only became clear after the animal was shot

The government lifted a temporary ban on hunting in May, five years after it had been introduced. 

It said certain areas would be given quotas and roughly 400 hunting licences would be distributed each year.

However, some animals remain off-limits including elephants with collars, as they are earmarked for scientific research.

'The professional hunter claimed that the collar was not visible as the elephant was in a full-frontal position,' the tourism ministry said.

'Once the animal was down, they realised it had a collar on it placed for research purposes. Although this was a legal hunt, the killing of the collared elephant is regrettable.'

'The government should investigate this incident and send a strong message to professional hunters. His licence should also be revoked,' Mr Fitt said.

Department of Wildlife and National Parks said its inquiries into the incident were 'at an advanced stage'.

Botswana is home to over 130,000 elephants, thought to be the largest concentration in Africa.