GILGIT: The Gilgit-Baltistan Parks and Wildlife Department auctioned trophy hunting permits for endangered animals on Wednesday, with the highest permit to hunt the Astore markhor fetching a record $370,000.
For every hunting season, which begins on November 1 and ends on April 25, the Gilgit-Baltistan Parks and Wildlife Department auctions permits for hunting 118 animals.
These permits were issued for hunting four Astore markhors, 14 blue sheep, and 100 Himalayan ibexes —permissible under the Gilgit-Baltistan Wildlife Act, 1975, following strict regulations.
The auction is usually held in October; however, this year it was held a bit earlier in an apparent attempt to lure more hunters, as the auction in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is to be held at the end of this month.
For this season, the base price for an Astore markhor permit was increased to $200,000. Blue sheep and Himalayan ibex permits were set at $30,000 and $10,000, respectively.
Last year, the minimum fees were $150,000, $9,000, and $5,500 for each animal.
The Wednesday auction, held in the forest and wildlife complex in Jutial, Gilgit, saw widespread participation and proceeded smoothly, in contrast to last year when the permits were only sold on the third attempt.
During the auction, four permits for Astore markhor, 14 for blue sheep, and around 80 permits for Himalayan ibex were successfully auctioned.
The highest permit for hunting an Astore markhor in the Nanaga Parbat Community-Controlled Hunting Area (CCHA) in Chilas sold for $370,000, followed by Khanbari CCHA in Darel at $286,000, Minawar CCHA in Gilgit at $270,000, and Tangir CCHA at $240,000.
For the Himalayan ibex, the top bid for an exportable trophy was $14,000, while bids for non-exportable trophies reached Rs1.85 million. Local hunters placed the highest bid at Rs. 750,000 for ibex permits. Blue sheep trophies attracted bids of $37,550 for exportable permits and Rs1.45 million for non-exportable ones.
For the first time, three Astore markhor trophies for the Diamer district were auctioned on a tentative, alternative basis. Sources within the wildlife department stated that if a hunter is unable to hunt in the designated CCHA for any reason, their permit can be transferred to an alternative location.
The sources explained that in previous years, when trophies were allocated for conservancies in Diamer, the Home Department and security agencies had refused to issue No-Objection Certificates (NOCs) due to security concerns. However, this year, the Chief Minister reportedly intervened and convinced the technical committee—comprising the Wildlife Department secretary, chief conservator, conservator, and range forest officers—to approve the selection of animals for Diamer.
Wildlife Conservator Khadim Abbas told HUM News English that eighty percent of this income is allocated to the respective community-controlled hunting areas, distributed through organized events with formal cross-checking. The remaining twenty percent goes to the government. Last year, Rs24,29,23,344 was distributed among the community share, while the government share was Rs6,07,30,836.