In a first, US citizen hunts grey goral for $54,500 in KP’s Torghar

• Six hunt permits issued for grey gorale, generating $398,500.
• 80% of revenue to be given to Conservation Committee.
• Trophy hunting initiative aimed at protection of rare wildlife.

PESHAWAR: A US citizen has hunted a grey gorale for the first time in the country’s history under the trophy hunting permit, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Wildlife Department said on Thursday.

The animal was hunted down in KP’s Torghar district and generated a revenue of $54,500.

The department said that a total of six non-exportable permits had been issued for hunting grey gorale, generating total $398,500.

As much as 80% of the revenue generated from the trophy hunting permit will be deposited in the account of the Conservation Committee.

The project aims to ensure the development of the local population and the protection of rare wildlife, added the department.

A day earlier, a Russian hunter hunted a Kashmiri Markhor in the Gahirat-Golen conservancy of Chitral.

The foreigner had obtained a hunting licence for the Markhor at a cost of $68,000. The horns of the hunted Markhor measure 41 inches in length.

Markhor, a wild goat native to high-altitude monsoon forests in central Asia, is highly valued for their majestic horns. The markhor is a large capra species native to Central Asia, the Karakoram, and the Himalayas.

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (Cites) in October 2024 approved the hunting of six markhors under the non-exportable quota in Kohistan and Chitral.

In light of the decision, the KP’s Wildlife Department allowed the hunting of six markhors, which generated $246,700 of which 80% of the proceeds were distributed among the local communities.