Final answer:
Brockington's preservationist stance aimed to protect elephants for their inherent value. Critiques include practical challenges in population management and insufficient consideration of local socio-economic conditions.
Step-by-step explanation:
According to Brockington, the preservationist stance aimed to protect elephants, viewing them as creatures with inherent value, deserving of life irrespective of their utility to humans. Criticisms of the preservationist stance include the practical challenges in managing elephant populations, such as the ethical dilemmas around culling, the feasibility of relocation and contraception, and the complex interactions with local human populations. A key critique is the potential for preservationist policies to overlook the socio-economic realities faced by communities living alongside elephants, particularly when such policies fail to address human-wildlife conflict or to provide incentives for local people to participate in elephant conservation efforts.