PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa wildlife department on Thursday auctioned four permits for trophy hunting of markhor in Chitral and Kohistan districts through open bidding.

A statement issued here said the highest bids of US$271,000 each (equivalent to Pak Rs75,442,578) were offered for Toshi 1 and Toshi 2 conservancies, Chitral.

This is the highest rate ever offered in the history of markhor trophy hunting.

The next highest bid of US$193,000 (equivalent to Pak Rs55,728,478) was offered for Kaigah (Kohistan) conservancy.

Whereas, the next highest bid of US$190,000 (equivalent to Pak Rs52,893,321) was offered for Gehriat conservancy, Chitral.

It said that 80 per cent of the proceeds from the trophy hunting programme are distributed among the local communities for development and wildlife conservation activities in the respective villages.

Published in Dawn, October 11th, 2024