Russian national hunts Kashmiri Markhor in Chitral for $68,000

CHITRAL: A foreign national has hunted a Kashmiri Markhor in the Gahirat-Golen conservancy of Chitral, according to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Wildlife Department.

The hunter, a Russian national, obtained a hunting licence for the Markhor at a cost of $68,000. The horns of the hunted Markhor measure 41 inches in length.

The department said that the hunt was conducted under the Community-Based Trophy Hunting Programme.

Markhor, a wild goat native to high-altitude monsoon forests in central Asia, is highly valued for their majestic horns. The markhor is a large capra species native to Central Asia, the Karakoram, and the Himalayas.

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (Cites) in October 2024 approved the hunting of six markhors under the non-exportable quota in Kohistan and Chitral.

In light of the decision, the KP's Wildlife Department allowed the hunting of six markhors, which generated $246,700 of which 80% of the proceeds were distributed among the local communities.

"A significant portion of the revenue generated from this program will be used for the welfare and development of the local community," the department maintained.

Annually, three hunting trophy licences are issued for markhor hunting, and 80% of the total cost is distributed among local communities, and 20% is deposited in the national exchequer. 

Last year, a US citizen hunted the same animal at very venue during the third trophy hunt. The US national, named Robert Myles Hall, hunted the Kashmir Markhor for a trophy permit of $125,000.

The hunted markhor had aged about eight years, and the horn size of the giant four-legged wild goat was around 38 inches.