Markhor trophy hunting, conservation efforts go side by side

PESHAWAR: Commending the government’s move to protect Pakistan’s national animal, the Markhor, conservationists said that the initiative has finally paid off, resulting in a considerable increase in the endangered species’ population.
Markhor (or screw-horn goat) hunting is a legalized sport in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province. However, by making it expensive to procure a hunting license, authorities have been successful in ensuring that the number of Markhors has risen to more than 4,000 in the last three decades.
“Markhor numbers have jumped from few hundreds to more than 4,000 in last three decades,” Safdar Shah, the chief conservator of KP’s wildlife department, told Arab News.
He added that strict surveillance on part of the Village Conservation Community (VCC) and a ban on hunting without official permits have been the main reasons for an increase in the population of the species.
“The locals are now protecting it, as 80 percent of trophy hunting’s revenue goes to the local community,” Shah said.
Shah added that the provincial government, along with local community members, have taken up the responsibility of owning and protecting the animal from illegal hunters.
The Markhor inhabits the northern areas of Chitral, Hunza, and a few other mountainous regions where it lives at an altitude of 3,500 to 12,000 feet above sea level.
Trophy hunting of the animal, which began in 1998-99, has seen officials issue 69 licenses till date and amass a revenue of $4.3 million in the process, wildlife department officials told Arab News.