It was a culling. Too many elephants, not enough resources. That elephant wasn't hunted so much as scheduled for termination. And we do do the same thing with surplus dogs and cats here in the US at least.

Still, paying to do the shooting is even creepier than hunting an elephant. Forget the tracking, stalking, and pay to just enjoy the killing? Eww. Imagine the Humane Society auctioning off a day operating the kitty gas chamber.