Really ? Last I heard the number of elephants was down markedly in areas of Zimbabwe where trophy hunting is allowed, mostly thanks to poaching. Of course that isn’t stopping Trump. Now he wants to kill lions.
After targeting elephants, Interior Department puts African lions in the crosshairs
Africa is poor and corrupt. They charge roughly $50k for a license to harvest a elephant or a lion. It's done to keep the population balanced. Elephants in particular rapidly destroy trees and kill them. There is only a harvest if the numbers support it. The funds go into supporting wildlife by drilling water wells, buying land, prosecuting poachers.