“What purpose did it serve?” -— he just listed a bunch of them, if not for game hunts like this, these countries cannot afford their anti-poaching efforts, have you seen an elephant with its tusks hacked off rotting in the bush? I have, all you people who have never set foot in Africa and never will sitting here pontificating from your comfy western homes. Either go fund those countries and their animal protection efforts or shut up when someone else does it in their way.
I would like to see ivory made legal. Then you would see elephants being protected, periodically tranquilized to get the ivory, and the elephant sent on his way to grow more ivory.
They could then sell licenses to hunt poachers. Don't assume there would not be plenty of people willing to hunt poachers. Especially if they could get the heads mounted as trophies.