KP Allows US Citizen to Kill Rare Protected Wildlife Despite Federal Ban

A US national has hunted a rare grey goral in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) under a provincial trophy hunting permit, even as the federal government maintains a ban on such non-exportable hunts.

According to officials from the KP Wildlife Department, the grey goral was shot in the Torghar area under a licensed trophy hunt, bringing in $54,500 in fee revenue.

The species is listed among Pakistan’s protected mountain ungulates and is subject to strict quota-based hunting rules.

Provincial authorities confirmed that a total of six non-exportable permits for grey goral have been issued this season, generating $398,500 in income.

Under KP’s community-based conservation model, 80% of the money from each permit is deposited into the account of a local Conservation Committee, which funds development schemes and wildlife protection efforts in the area.

The Wildlife Department continues to defend the programme as a tool for both conservation and community welfare, arguing that tightly controlled, high-fee hunts encourage residents to safeguard rare species and report illegal killing.

The American hunter’s goral is not the only recent high-profile kill in the province. Just a day earlier, a Russian national legally hunted a Kashmiri markhor in the Gahirat–Golen conservancy of Chitral after paying $68,000 for a license.

The markhor’s horns measured 41 inches. KP officials note that in a separate round of markhor hunts allowed under earlier approvals, six markhor generated $246,700, with 80% of those proceeds also shared with local communities.

The federal CITES Management Authority recently announced a ban on hunting non-exportable markhor, ibex, and grey goral, arguing that such authorizations require federal sign-off.

In response, KP’s Wildlife Department has insisted that setting and enforcing hunting quotas falls under provincial jurisdiction following devolution, and has proceeded with auctions and permits regardless of the federal stance.