CHITRAL: A foreign hunter has successfully hunted a Kashmiri Markhor in the Gahirat-Golen conservancy in Chitral, as per officials from the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Wildlife Department.
The individual, a Russian citizen, secured a hunting license valued at $68,000 for the rare species. The trophy horns of the Markhor measured an impressive 41 inches.The Wildlife Department confirmed that the hunting activity took place under the Community-Based Trophy Hunting Scheme.
The Markhor, a majestic wild goat native to the high-altitude forests of Central Asia, is renowned for its impressive horns. This species of wild goat is found across the mountainous regions of Central Asia, including the Karakoram and Himalayas.
In October 2024, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) approved a quota allowing the hunting of six Markhors in Kohistan and Chitral, with the stipulation that the animals are non-exportable.
Following this decision, the KP Wildlife Department authorized the hunting of these six Markhors, which collectively generated $246,700 in revenue. Of this, 80% was allocated to local communities to support their development and welfare initiatives.
A significant portion of the funds from the trophy hunting program is dedicated to local community benefits, while 20% of the revenue is deposited into the national treasury. Typically, three trophy licenses for Markhor hunting are issued annually. The revenue-sharing model ensures that 80% of the license fee benefits local communities directly, with the remaining 20% contributing to the country’s finances.
Last year, an American citizen named Robert Myles Hall hunted the same species at a different location, paying a trophy permit fee of $125,000. The Markhor in that hunt was estimated to be around eight years old, with horns measuring approximately 38 inches.
