A Russian man has hunted a Kashmiri markhor in the Gahrait Gol area of Chitral, after purchasing a hunting license for a whopping $68,000.
The Wildlife Department confirmed the markhor’s horns measured 41 inches in length, and the hunt was conducted under the Community-Based Trophy Hunting Program, which aims to balance wildlife conservation with local economic development.
The department said that authorities will spend a major portion of the hunting programme’s revenue on the welfare and development of the local population.
According to the Wildlife Department, the programme aims to protect wildlife and provide economic benefits to local communities.
Earlier, in December 2024, an American hunter, Thomas Garrick, carried out the most expensive trophy hunt in Chitral’s history by paying Rs68 million ($243,000) to hunt a Kashmir markhor. Divisional Forest Officer Wildlife Chitral, Farooq Nabi, said the hunt took place in the Shasha Thoosi Game Reserve. The markhor had 55-inch-long horns and was approximately 13.5 years old. The hunter shot the animal from a distance of around 250 meters.
In January this year, Spanish citizen Cristian Pablo Abilo Gamezo hunted a Kashmiri markhor in Gahiret Gol under the supervision of the Gahiret Conservatory Committee. The Spanish hunter paid $219,000 (PKR61.25 million) for the permit. The hunted markhor was nine years old with horns measuring 41.5 inches in length.
In September 2024, an 80-year-old American hunter, Ronald Joe Whitton, successfully hunted an 11-year-old Kashmir markhor with 49.5-inch horns in the Toshi-Shasha community-managed game reserve. He obtained the hunting permit at a cost of $271,000.
Wildlife officials confirmed that 80 percent of the revenue from trophy hunting goes toward local community development projects, while 20 percent is deposited into the government treasury.