GABORONE, Dec. 25 (Xinhua) -- Botswana's Ministry of Environment on Tuesday issued a statement of concern over the death of an elephant calf that occurred in Nokaneng, a village in the country's North-West District.
"Investigations have revealed that on Dec. 6, an elephant calf was killed in a cruel manner by three suspects using dogs and stones," the ministry said in a statement.
The behavior is completely unacceptable and has the potential to damage the country's longstanding reputation for wildlife conservation, it added.
"Members of the public are urged to desist from harming or interacting in any way with wild animals that stray into settlements and villages, and to immediately report their presence to the nearest kgotla, police or wildlife office," said the statement.
Botswana has seen a global backlash against its decision to lift a ban on game hunting, as part of efforts to minimize human-wildlife conflict in the country.
Several clashes between humans and wildlife have been reported in Botswana this year, and some of them have caused human casualties.
