South Africa says it will allow elephants to be culled for the first time in 13 years, with the elephant population growing from about 8-thousand to 18-thousand since a moratorium was imposed in 1995.
The government says the cull will only go ahead as a last resort, and under strict conditions.
But Michelle Pickover from Animal Rights Africa says the decision has been influenced by people who stand to benefit commercially.
“They are the main movers on the African continent for the re-opening of the ivory trade, they are pushing trophy hunting...there is no scientific need to cull.”