Local wildlife officials have confirmed that an American hunter, Kyle Adam Miller, successfully hunted a Kashmir Markhor in the Shoghore Wildlife Range of Chitral.
The Markhor, known for its magnificent spiral horns, measured 45 inches in length. According to officials, the hunt was carried out under a legal permit system, with Miller obtaining a non-exportable hunting permit for the first time in the history of Chitral Gol National Park, at a cost of $66,000.
Reports indicate that the hunter selected a 9.5-year-old trophy-sized Markhor in the national park’s buffer zone, near Shoghore hamlet on Garam Chashma Road, and pursued it with ease.
The Kashmir Markhor, Pakistan’s national animal, is highly valued for trophy hunting due to its majestic appearance and rarity. However, such hunts are strictly regulated under Pakistan’s Community-Based Trophy Hunting Program, designed to balance conservation efforts with economic benefits for local communities.
A significant portion of the permit fee is usually allocated to local development and wildlife preservation projects.
According to a local source, the government decided last year to introduce non-exportable trophy hunting in the national park’s buffer zones in response to the demands of communities that rely on the area.
The source further stated that hunters were prohibited from taking the horns of the hunted animal back to their home countries. He claimed that the local community had long requested this policy since the Markhor population in the park had increased due to effective conservation efforts.
