Chitral citizens booked over interfering US man hunting Markhor

CHITRAL: A case was registered against three people in Chitral, a district of Kyber Pakhtunkhwa province, over interfering a United States (US) citizen hunting Markhor in the area, ARY NEWS reported.

Divulging the details, the district forest officer (DFO) in the area said that an American hunter visited  Toshi-II game reserve in Chitral to hunt Markhor.

“He obtained a permit for trophy hunting, paying a fee of US$150,000,” he said.

The DFO said that as soon as the US citizen found his prey and was ready to hunt it a citizen opened a warning shot, forcing the animal to run away.

“The fire caused the hunter to change his location,” he said adding that three people were booked in the case over the violation.

On December 12, an Italian citizen hunted the first Markhor of the season, department of Wildlife and forestry of the region told.

According to the Gilgit-Baltistan wildlife department, Carlo Pasco successfully hunted a flared-horned markhor from the conservation area.

Read More: Trophy Hunting: Spanish hunter kills Markhor in Gilgit

The hunter had paid 85,000 US dollars as permit fee for the hunting of the rare wildlife species in the region.

The Wildlife department claims that 80% of the amount paid by hunters are given to the local community to invest on themselves and the conversation of these animals.

The markhor is a large Capra species native to Central Asia, Karakoram and the Himalayas. It is listed on the IUCN Red List as Near Threatened since 2015.