Justifiable or Understandable

In response to Raj - full post here

I think there are many interesting things to consider here. For instance, even if trophy hunting was understandable given the situation in Zimbabwe, is it morally justified? I would tend to say no; I think it is still morally unjustified, especially given the deaths of so many elephants who are intelligent, sentient, and inherently worth much.

This situation reminds me of slavery; without slavery, the southern economy would have taken a very large hit, and would have sent them into uncertainty. Even if the south, however, was destined to fail if the abolished slavery, does that mean that slavery was morally justified, or rather that it was morally understandable? I think in the cases of the southern USA and Zimbabwe, the actions are understandable but not justifiable. People in both areas had/have the moral duty to try to end those practices regardless of how well the practices work and how understandable they are.