American hunter bags Kashmir Markhor in Chitral for $66,000

CHITRAL: Kyle Adam Miller, an American hunter, has trekked in the Shoghore Wildlife Range of Chitral and shot a Kashmir Markhor, as confirmed by the local wildlife officials. This Markhor, with its fabulous spiral horns, was 45 inches long.

This hunt was done on a valid permit system, whereby for the first time in the history of the Chitral Gol National Park, Miller received a $66,000 non-exportable hunting permit.

This permit allowed Miller to take a trophy-sized Markhor that was selected in the buffer zone of the national park, close to the Shoghore hamlet along the Garam Chashma Road.

The Kashmir Markhor is Pakistan’s national animal and is a highly prized species for trophy hunting because of its majestic looks and rarity. These hunts are closely controlled, however, under Pakistan’s Community-Based Trophy Hunting Program: a program aimed at treading the fine line between nature conservation and economic incentives for local communities.

A significant part of the permit fee usually goes for local development and wildlife preservation projects. The successful conservation of the Markhor population by such a scheme is resulting in the demand by the community for the establishment of non-exportable trophy hunting in the national park’s buffer zones.

According to a local, the government decided last year to begin non-exportable trophy hunting in the national park’s buffer zones on demand from the communities that depend on the area.

This decision has only been possible due to the successful conservation efforts resulting in the increase of the Markhor population in the park area.

Hunters other than Miller are prohibited from taking the trophy (horns) of the dead animal to their home nations. The trophy will remain in the country, and the local community will benefit from the income generated by the permit fee.