German trophy hunter fells biggest markhor
CHITRAL, March 23: A young man from Germany hunted so far the biggest Kashmir Markhor at the Toshi Shasha conservancy near Chitral.
Irshad Ahmed, an official of the wildlife department, said 24-year-old Philips Hermann had obtained the hunting permit from the department at $95,000. He said that as per records of trophy hunting in the district, the largest markhor ever hunted measured 43 centimetres that was exceptionally long and strong. “The German man was fortunate enough to search a markhor of such a size in a short span of time. He had not wasted much time in the process of searching,” he said, adding he happened to be consummate in shooting as the animal fell to the ground after the first shot. Mr Ahmed said that using his Magnum 300 rifle, the hunter fired from a distance of 250 metres. It was quite a difficult range keeping in view the steep and mountainous terrain of the conservancy while the recent rains had made the ground slippery and it was difficult to maintain balance, he added. The official said that the hunter fired a second shot to make sure that the animal was dead and stood no chance of rolling in the mountainous slopes in injured condition as it happened mostly. Mr Ahmed said that 80 per cent of the income accrued from the permit fee of the trophy hunting of markhor, went to the local community through the village conservation committee that were organised in different villages. He said the committee members played a pivotal role in conservation of markhor in different villages of the district. He said that keeping in view the strength of markhors in a certain conservancy, the wildlife department issued hunting permit for $94,000 to $105,000 every year.–Zahiruddin]]>
Any animal (non-domesticated) which is hunted for food or sport is known as game. For example, markhor, ibex etc. In addition, a trophy hunting is the selective hunting (legally) of games animals; while the illegal hunting of the games is called poaching. Moreover, a hunting ‘trophy’ is an item, which is made from the body parts of the hunted games: teeth, head, tusks, horns etc.
Trophy hunting is a controversial subject. For its supporters it is ‘hunting one and saving hundreds’. It is also said that the practice of trophy hunting not only discourages the poaching practices but also generates considerable incomes for the local communities and improves their social and economical condition. Trophy hunting is believed to have very positive impacts on the growth of the endangered species.
However, the opponents have their own narratives. They say that on the pretext of trophy hunting, the killing of endangered species in the name of preservation is absurd and illogical. They are also skeptical not only about the impacts of the trophy hunting on the population growth of the scarce animals but also about its impacts on the development of local communities.
Chitral Gol Community Development and Conservation Association/DFO/WWF, Chitral:
To get an answer to the questions (reservations) mentioned above, I came across some interesting reads, Chitral Gol National Park (http://cgcdca.org/) and The University of Montana (http://www.cfc.umt.edu/nwfp/Markhor.html), but could not find latest statistics in this regard.
For the common good of the readers, and particularly for “Raising awareness about Natural Resources”, could you please shed some lights on the following points with supporting details (facts & figures);
(i) What is the impact of the trophy hunting on the growth of the endangered animals?
(ii) Where does the money (80% community’ shares) go/deposited? And how it is utilized?
(iii) For the welfare of the communities, in how many projects the money has been used, so far?
I look forward to hearing from you.
Thanks,
Nisar