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CHITRAL: A Mexican man on Saturday hunted the Kashmir markhor in Toshi Shasha conservancy here.
Aged eight years old, the markhor’s horns measured 40 inches for which the foreigner had obtained hunting permit at over Rs10 million.
Range officer of the local wildlife department Irshad Ahmed told Dawn that the hunter, Adrian Gonzalez, didn’t waste his time to single out the animal of desired length and physique. “The Mexican national proved to be an expert hunter as he easily shot down the stout and healthy Himalayan goat from a distant range as the slippery pitch didn’t allow him to move further towards the animal,” he said.
Irshad Ahmed said that this was the season‘s first trophy hunting while many more hunters were scheduled to arrive during the month of March. He said that the last trophy hunting had been carried out in the conservancy in March, last year when a German boy, Philips Hermann, had hunted a 43-inch-long markhor.
Mr Ahmed said that wildlife department had set up village conservation committees (VCCs) which helped in the conservation of biodiversity. “It is due to this reason that the population of kashmir markhor has comfortable density in the district,” he added.
The wildlife department official said that 80 per cent of the hunting permit fee went to the local community for their collective development.
Published in Dawn March 1st , 2015
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Comments (63) Closed
Mar 01, 2015 09:42am
Everything is for sale here........
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Mar 01, 2015 09:56am
I don't think India allows this type of hunting.....Happy Coexistance and tolerance India follows
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Mar 01, 2015 09:57am
some old beliefs broken today. New ones can be read as -
Beauty can be a Curse ......Money can buy you almost everything.....
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Mar 01, 2015 10:01am
Lies & Deception ..Hunt this Mexican down. Thats our National Animal ..& I am pretty sure it will be endangered after this one fell down .....Plz revoke his License ..
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Mar 01, 2015 10:17am
Pakistan is allowing plundering of national resources of kashmiri and claim to be on their side
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Mar 01, 2015 10:31am
Shame on you.
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Mar 01, 2015 10:35am
@Nas sir. the govt gave him permission.
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Mar 01, 2015 10:44am
Markhor is not endangered animal.
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Mar 01, 2015 10:46am
Poor innocent animal killed for "sport".
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Mar 01, 2015 10:54am
Stop killing these beautiful goats,please.
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Mar 01, 2015 10:55am
@ Sir ..Bro...Thats what I am saying ...Revoke that Permission ...Although we dont even know how many Animals have been downed this this ..TEQUILA
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Mar 01, 2015 12:35pm
OK, no problem when a huge fee is levied. Even if you can invest quarter of that money for wild welfare, it will be a huge help.
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Mar 01, 2015 12:35pm
Even though Hunting is a cruel act, and specially when it involves Endangered species be it Markhor or that Bustard Bird in Baluchistan, the Government and its officers who are responsible for protecting such species are cashing in by giving special permits to kill such endangered unique animals for Money that goes in their pockets. 10 Million Rs is $100,000 US. Most likely this sum of money will go into Property Buying by some Minister, or even an exotic luxury SUV, like Landcruiser, or Mercedez, etc. which cost about the same. What a shame indeed.
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Mar 01, 2015 12:46pm
Is Pakistan a rented country ?
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Mar 01, 2015 12:47pm
After Houbara Bustards, it's poor markhors turn now!
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Mar 01, 2015 12:57pm
i can understand some killing an animal for food , but why for fun ?
the Mexican man came all the way from mexico to kill an engendered animal and have fun shame on us as Pakistanis ,
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Mar 01, 2015 01:20pm
Viva Mexico! :)
Its sad that our pure land is selling out its fauna- endangered or not. Even the national animal is up for sale- what does this speak about the country?!
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Mar 01, 2015 01:22pm
@Pawan_saini ..you idiot its name is Kashmir markhor it's found in chitral in KPK not in Kashmir. Man you Indians are living in India and worry about Kashmir which u share no cultural ties with.
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Mar 01, 2015 01:23pm
Amigo shaheens
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Mar 01, 2015 01:40pm
Extremely pathetic that Pakistan is allowing hunting of rare animals in a "conservancy".
When even Kashmir markhor are not safe in Pakistan not sure why Kashmir would want to be with Pakistan
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Mar 01, 2015 01:46pm
@@Difusal Correct buddy, India does not allow this kind of madness. Hunting of rare Birds and Animals is strictly prohibited in India. Actor Salman Khan is learning this a hard way!.
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Mar 01, 2015 01:47pm
So sad that Pakistan is allowing every illegal thing to be done for money with govt.'s help by way of permits. Where is the country heading for? If such thing continues and everything is for sale, one day will come when even family members will be up for sale.
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Mar 01, 2015 01:49pm
@kamal khan It's good that Saudi Royalty and these foreigners have not asked for permit to hunt humans or else I am sure for few million rupees Pakistan government would have allowed that as well
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Mar 01, 2015 01:58pm
Pak need forex at any cost.They are allowing even for $8000. These people will eat these NIMALS AND SALE MUTTON AND RECOVER THE FEES. Pak will not be hesitate to sale human in future.
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Mar 01, 2015 02:02pm
Where we get money we will sell everything of Pakistan. Moto of PMLN.
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Mar 01, 2015 02:06pm
Pakistan is not interested in Development other than funds coming in from various donors.
Another lucrative method is to lure the very rich hunting rights in return for big money.
Will this help Pakistan to prosper? Kashmir and funds are only what Pakistan is interested in.
Besides the publicity for this type of news is probably advertisement to lure the rich.
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Mar 01, 2015 02:10pm
The species is classed by the IUCN as Endangered, as there are fewer than 2,500 mature individuals and the numbers have continued to decline by an estimated 20% over two generations.[
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Mar 01, 2015 02:14pm
@dawn reader
Kashmir Markhor are also found in Kashmir.
http://www.scirecordbook.org/kashmir-markhor/
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Mar 01, 2015 02:17pm
Hunting a markhor by paying such a huge amount !!
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Mar 01, 2015 03:29pm
A Mexican come to Pakistan for hunting because Pakistan is one of the very few countries that allow hunting of wild animals. Since huge revenue is being generated, it can be considered as culling to control population as carnivorous predators not abundant in Pakistan for naturally checking the population of these herbivorous animals. If there is clear data about the population of the animals and if there is a clear policy, permit to hunt on high fee is a way to promote economy of the region.
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Mar 01, 2015 05:09pm
Since we are allowing the hunters to hunt every thing in Pakistan... why don't we allow the other countries to hunt down the terrorists and make money at the same time....
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Mar 01, 2015 05:24pm
shameful and very sad.
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Mar 01, 2015 05:40pm
If the horns of this Markhore do not measure equal then the hunter should be arrested and suitably punished. This is a very serious crime. Our unscrupolous rulers would offer 'anything' for money. It is disgraceful. The worst aspect is that animal has been allowed to be killed in the animal conservancy. I have never heard of such animal conduct from humans.
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Mar 01, 2015 05:46pm
Please Stop hunting wild animals which are going to end their existance.
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Mar 01, 2015 05:57pm
When you kill an animal as beautiful as the Markhor for sport.........you clearly show how ugly you really are.
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Mar 01, 2015 07:01pm
A Mexican drug lord hunting animals in Pakistan. That's all I have to say. Find out who got paid at the embassy in Mexico. This relationship may be much deeper than what it seems to be. It may not be just hunting.
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Mar 01, 2015 07:09pm
@zak
This is NOT a rare or endangered animal. Hunting licences are issued all over the world for sport. People who are posting negative comments here (mostly Indian) have no knowledge about range and wildlife management.
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Mar 01, 2015 08:43pm
@Good Man and when they buy the property then they will have to pay someone. The money circulates. If you leave the goats alone they become an invasive species and destroy the biodiversity. The same happened in the US with the deer population. Restrictions on hunting has caused havoc on other animals as well as humans. Try colliding with a deer.
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Mar 01, 2015 09:54pm
This is different from Houbara bird hunting, in which thousands of birds are killed. They kill one animal and pay handsomely for it. the same money than can be used for enforcing conservation. It also keeps the wild population in check.
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Mar 01, 2015 10:10pm
This is a controlled hunting and the entire community is involved. In this way locals make sure that illegal hunting is not carried and wildlife population growth remains secured.
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Mar 01, 2015 10:42pm
Hunting legally with permit is fine.
But is the Rs10m going for conservation or......?
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Mar 01, 2015 11:19pm
@VM no not at all
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Mar 01, 2015 11:44pm
Our government officials are so corrupt for money they will sell themselves, Markhor is endangered specie I am ashamed to be Pakistani how we are allowing people from all over the world to come to Pakistan and shoot our goats.
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Mar 02, 2015 12:08am
What's the fun in killing a sitting duck and what skills are we talking about...Unfortunate!!!
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Mar 02, 2015 12:12am
10Mil and a lot of them there to share.
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Mar 02, 2015 01:39am
" The wildlife department official said that 80 per cent of the hunting permit fee went to the local community for their collective development. "
This is the most constructive usage of hunting revenue. As a hunter myself, we hunt deer in Canada and donate the meat to homeless shelters.
The Pakistan government should encourage hunters to donate meat from overpopulated areas to the poor in Pakistan. This would help solve the hunger problem among the poor.
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Mar 02, 2015 02:51am
Shame
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Mar 02, 2015 03:17am
Why must the Indians and the Pakistanis always bow down to the whites of any kind and allow them to destroy the countries on the name of progress? Is this mentality of the Indian and Pakistanis driven from the so-called the White Brahmins’ invasion of the land and the so called caste system forced on the aboriginals of the countries?
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Mar 02, 2015 05:10am
Pay and have your way......shame
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Mar 02, 2015 05:52am
I wish he slipped off that slope and died. Adrian Gonzalez could then be fed to the goats.
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Mar 02, 2015 06:19am
Trophy hunting is common in many countries, and in this case 80% money goes for the development of surrounding villages. I have personally seen that the villagers aggressively protect these markhors and dont allow illegal hunters to even come closer to these animals.
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Mar 02, 2015 06:32am
Selling prized possessionin open market ! For a Price .....I wonder who are the policy makers ! Pathetic !
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Mar 02, 2015 06:53am
Cruel as it might seem hunting does provide substantial funds for conservation of these animals if the money goes into the 'right hands'. Local communities benefit and understand the value of conservation thus protecting animals. Poachers are kept at bay.
I can organize hunting of many African animals at my hunting camp in Africa where you will see the benefits derived from this sport.
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Mar 02, 2015 06:59am
Everyone is commenting here without having any knowledge about how these things work. The wildlife officials keep track of the number of Markhors in the region and their respective ages. The animals which are above their breeding age are identified and only for those the permits are issued. These aged Markhors are eventually going to die but the hunting permits will generate revenue for the community. Due to these permits, the community is very active against poachers and would not allow illegal hunting.
If you had ever been to the Sasha region, you will see these Markhors just across the road/river. Despite being an easy target for poachers, the population of Markhors is increasing.
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Mar 02, 2015 07:14am
What's the problem Indian troll. Every country allows licensed hunting. Remember famous Salman Khan hunting episode in Rajasthan! !
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Mar 02, 2015 08:09am
@Green Jaguar - Are you that naive or just want to believe what's written there? 80% is all on paper! Actually what must be reaching those locals may not be even 10%. And it's different hunger that's a problem here ... it's hunger for fresh smell of Benjamin Franklins !!
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Mar 02, 2015 08:21am
No money is enough for this type of sport.
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Mar 02, 2015 08:51am
@Green Jaguar Islam forbids hunting animal for fun , we claim to be an Islamic country and we allow poor animal to be killed for fun ... this is not Islamic practice , there should be fatwa against this ...
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Mar 02, 2015 09:40am
Hey All: to see all the hue & cry in the comment section, I fear you are getting it wrong.
In fact, you are wrongly assuming this trophy hunting to that of the killing of 2,100 houbara in Balochistan. In the case of Balochistan, my poor Baloch brothers have no say regarding the hunting permits nor they know where does the money go.
While in the case of Chitral, every year a limited number of trophy hunting is carried out to national & international hunters through a fair process. Moreover, here the community is enough educated and empowered to get involved in the whole process. They get the a hefty portion of the hunting amount (80%). Therefore the local community completely cooperating with the Wild Life department in all aspects (including curbing the poachers). Perhaps that's the reason why the number of Markhors have increased from a few hundreds to 2000 during the last few a years.
So, please do not take the news in a wrong way while comparing it to an absolutely different case--killing of 2,100 houbara bustards in 21-day!!!
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Mar 02, 2015 10:04am
So the guests are hunting down our national animal. Too much courteous hosts.
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Mar 02, 2015 11:44am
All i can say Pakistan leaders are corrupt. PTI Gov InshaAllah will change Pakistans image for the best!
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Mar 02, 2015 01:47pm
Trophy hunting has several benefits for the conservation of wildlife. It discourages the illegal hunting that is the major threat to different species of wildlife. Limited number of hunting permits are issued by Wildlife Department of Pakistan which are sold out in open auctions. 80 percent of the money goes directly to the community. When so much money is going to community through this process hence communities dont allow anyone to hunt illegally. Due to this practice wildlife population in many national parks increased.
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Mar 03, 2015 04:01am
That`s how Mexican Cartels will take over South Asian drug trade.
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