GILGIT: A local woman hunted Himalayan ibex in Gojal area of Hunza under the Gilgit-Baltistan trophy hunting programme and claimed to be first female hunter to do so in the region.

According to the GB wildlife department, Naznain Aman successfully hunted the Himalayan ibex in Hussaini Batura valley in Gojal (upper Hunza).

The female hunter had obtained a licence to hunt the animal from the GB wildlife department. According to Hussaini Organisation For Local Development, she became the first female Himalayan ibex hunter in GB.

Local organisations and the people of Hussaini Gojal warmly welcomed and congratulated her on being the first female hunter of the animal. She was presented with traditional gifts.

Her photographs along with her trophy went viral on social media and received a mixed reaction from people. The hashtag, ‘Say No to Trophy Killing’ was being used by activists, who strongly opposed the killing of the animal.

Fahmida Bercha, a social media activist, stated: “First female hunter of Gilgit-Baltistan. What a shameful pride.”

Umar Qureshi stated: “Waiting for ‘experts’ to weigh in and say there’s nothing wrong with this because the trophy hunting money is spent on the local community.”

Ania Parveen said: “The decimation of wild life in Gilgit-Baltistan is shooting through the shoot and increasing to an alarming level. Killing innocent lives will bring disharmony. English poet Coleridge once wrote that if people go against nature then nature would go against them.”

Aisar Ali said: “Trophy hunting is both a source of revenue for both the local community and authorised departments that regulate wildlife conservation.

Attempts were made to reach the Gilgit-Baltistan wildlife department but no one responded.

The GB wildlife department auctioned five licences for hunting of the Astore markhor for $10,000, 100 licences for Himalayan ibex for $1,000 and 14 licences for hunting of blue sheep for $1,000 during the current trophy hunting season, which started from October 2022 to April 2023.

It must be noted that 80pc of the money received from the trophy hunting programme goes to local communities and is spent on education, health and other development projects. The remaining 20pc is deposited in the government exchequer.

Published in Dawn, April 13th, 2023