Another foreigner hunts markhor in Chitral

CHITRAL: Christian Pablo Abello Gamizo, a Spaniard hunter, successfully hunted a Kashmir markhor with 41.5-inch-long horns in the Gahret Golen Conservancy of Lower Chitral on Sunday.

Christian Pablo Abello Gamizo had obtained a hunting permit from the Wildlife Department for a fee of Rs 61.25 million.District Forest Officer (DFO), Wildlife, Farooq Nabi Khan said that the hunter proved to be highly skilled, who successfully took down the trophy-sized markhor within five minutes of locating it. He said the local community members assisted the hunter in spotting the animal.

The official added that a month earlier, an 81-year-old American hunter had paid a fee of Rs70 million to hunt a Kashmir markhor in the Toshi Shasha Conservancy located along the Chitral-Garam Chashma road.The DFO explained that 80 percent of the permit fee was allocated to the local community, which helped in the conservation of these animals and invested the funds in their collective development.It may be mentioned that the Wildlife Department auctions two permits annually for hunting Kashmir markhors in the Toshi and Gahret conservancies of Chitral.