The government of Botswana has issued permits to kill 287 elephants by the end of the hunting season in September 2021.
The elephant hunting season commenced on April 6.
Botswana issued 100 hunting permits for 2021, while the remaining 187 permits were from the last season suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which restricted travelling.
Environmentalists were against the hunting of elephants.
However, the Botswana Wildlife and National Parks Authority said hunting will be done responsibly and ethically.
It said applicants for the hunting permit should have proven experience of elephant hunting and without criminal convictions for wildlife offences.
The hunters will be prohibited from gunning down collared elephants.
Botswana lifted the total ban on elephant hunting in 2019 as President Botswana Mokgweetsi Masisi argued that the uncontrolled growth of the elephant was threatening the livelihoods of local farmers.
Botswana has the largest elephant population in the world, estimated at around 130 000.
