An American hunter has set a record for a markhor hunt. He paid the highest amount yet paid – US$110,000 – to hunt Pakistan’s national animal.
Bryan Kinsel Harlan hunted the Astore markhor in Gilgit-Baltistan. His is one of four permits the Peshawar wildlife department auctioned last year.
He started a worldwide debate on trophy hunting. Here is sporting journalist Jens Ulrik Høgh appearing on Danish TV (with English subtitles).
Jens is due to appear on ITV’s This Morning programme in the UK on Friday 22 February 2019.
The markhor is a major conservation success thanks to hunting. Down to 275 animals throughout Pakistan in 1993, the number is now more than 5,000, with markhor conservation paid almost entirely by hunting. Markhor can now be found in Gilgit-Baltistan, Chitral, Kalash Valley, Hunza among other Northern parts of Pakistan.
Local chairman Hamid Hussain told newspapers that the money earned from Harlan’s hunt will be spent on development of the area.
