KP Govt Gets a Record Bid for Markhor Trophy Hunting Permit

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Wildlife Department on Thursday auctioned a permit for trophy hunting of a Markhor in Toshi-I game reserve of district Chitral for a record fee of $160,250.

The development emerged from the seasonal auction of permits for the trophy hunting of Markhors and Ibexes in the game reserves of the province.

According to details, KP Wildlife Department received bids for the permits of trophy hunting of the animals from a number of participants.

Both local and international trophy hunting enthusiasts, including a Turkish woman, participated in the auction process.

KP Wildlife Department successfully auctioned four permits for the trophy hunting of Markhors and one for Ibex in the province in the upcoming hunting season.

Every year, hunting enthusiasts from across the globe make a trip to Pakistan’s north, especially Gilgit and Chitral, to hunt down Markhors and Ibexes after receiving permits and collect them like trophies.

To prevent illegal hunting of the endangered animals in the province, KP’s Wildlife Department auctions off their permits each year for hundreds of thousands of dollars.

As per the rules, 80% of the hunting fee goes to the local community for their welfare and conservation of local animal species while the remaining 20% is deposited in the national exchequer.

Note here that it was recently reported that the Markhor population in the Chitral Gol National Park decreased by 35% since 2019.

2,868 Markhors were present in Chitral Gol National Park at the start of 2019. Since then, the number has gradually dropped to 2,000.

While the KP Wildlife Department claimed that a ‘mysterious disease’ killed hundreds of Markhors in the park, however, locals accused the provincial Wildlife Department of colluding with the poachers and letting them hunt the endangered animal for a few bucks.