Gul Hamad Farooqi Chitral
Under trophy hunting programme, third Markhor of current season was hunted down by an American Hunter, Robertson Neil Hall in Gahirat Gol game reserve Chitral after US dollars 125000 around Rs 34, 875,000 (34.875 million). The Markhor hunted in Gahirat Gol game reserve was an eight years old wild male goat having long spiraling horns of around 38 inches.
Under the Trophy Hunting programme, four permits are sold annually through auction for hunting of markhors, three in Chitral and one in Kohistan district. Earlier two other hunts of markhor had been carried out by foreign hunters in Chitral during current season as part of Trophy Hunting programme launched with the objective of conservation of these rare wild goats.
According to Divisional Forest Officer Wildlife Farooq Nabi, the annual revenue through sale of Markhor Trophy Hunting was witnessing increase by each passing year. For the first time when the scheme was launched in 1990 the hunting permits were sold at price of US dollar 15000 and later gradually the amount increased as foreign hunters kept on coming to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
“Once Markhor was critically endangered wild specie in Pakistan, but due to proper conservation efforts based on monetary gains through sale of hunting permits to foreign hunters, the country has now largest population of the animal,” he apprised.
Under the scheme a sense of ownership is being inculcated among communities as 80 percent of revenue generated is spent on development schemes in respective areas of hunting through mutual understanding of local elders. Twenty percent of the revenue generated goes into national kitty. President Gahirat Conservancy Chitral, Faizur Rehaman when contacted informed that people of the area are very happy over launching of trophy hunting programme.
