An American hunter, Kyle Adam Miller, successfully hunted a Kashmir Markhor in the Shoghore Wildlife Range of Chitral, local wildlife officials confirmed.
The Markhor, known for its impressive spiral horns, measured 45 inches in length. According to officials, the hunt was conducted under a legal permit system, with Miller having obtained a non-exportable hunting permit for the first time in the history of Chitral Gol National Park, for $66,000.
According to reports, the hunter selected the 9.5-year-old markhor of trophy size in the national park's buffer zone, close to Shoghore hamlet on Garam Chashma Road, and easily pursued it.
The Kashmir Markhor, Pakistan’s national animal, is a prized species for trophy hunting due to its majestic appearance and rarity. However, such hunts are strictly regulated under Pakistan’s Community-Based Trophy Hunting Program, which aims to balance conservation efforts with economic incentives for local communities.
A significant portion of the permit fee is typically allocated to local development and wildlife preservation initiatives.
According to a local, the government decided last year to begin non-exportable trophy hunting in the national park's buffer zones in response to the demand from the communities that depend on the area.
The hunters were prohibited from taking the trophy (horns) of the killed animal back to their home nations, the local said. He claimed that the community had long demanded it because the markhor population in the park area had grown as a result of the effective conservation efforts.
