Photos depicting two safari hunters seemingly happy killing baby elephants has resurfaced online, stirring controversy.

Georgia businessman Mike Jines of TopGen Energy was accused of killing two young elephants for sport. The hunt reportedly took place in October 2018 in Zimbabwe, but photos did not surface online until months after. 

Critics are calling for a boycott of his Alpharetta business.  

Jines claimed his critics are wrong about the details behind the images. He said he and expert hunter Max "Buzz" Delezenne were chased by two charging animals, and they fired in self-defense. 

According to Pet Rescue Report, he recalled that less than 30 minutes into the hunt, everything went south. 

"We positioned ourselves to get a good look at the tuskless and concluded that since it was just Day 1 we would pass," he recounted.

"An instant later she came in an all-out charge. Buzz and I both fired two shots apiece and she went down. Then from behind us, a large one-tusked cow charged at full speed. We each fired one shot and she crashed to the ground with her hind legs out behind her…"

CBS News Atlanta reports the elephants were not babies but fully grown. The animals were shot legally in a designated safari area in Zimbabwe, a nation known for offering legal hunting opportunities for the wealthy.

A report from Global Press Journal states that trophy fees for killing an elephant over 60 pounds can go as high as $11,000. Payments of this kind have generated upward to $16 million in the past. These funds were used to keep up conservations for animals and fund habitat protection.  

"While I can appreciate that hunting can be polarizing and that views on hunting can vary materially, I am sure that you can appreciate what it is like to deal with the vitriol particularly when the underlying information, in this case, is inaccurate," Jines told CBS News Atlanta.

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