The
licences for trophy hunting include four Astore Markhor, 14 blue sheep and 95
ibex.
The
licence for hunting Astore Markhor was obtained at $11,000, the highest rate in
the history of the region.
The
rate for permit of hunting Astore Markhor has been fixed at $75,000, for blue
sheep $8,000 and Rs100,000 for ibex.
The
hunting season in the region begins in November and ends in April.
According
to officials, the trophy hunting quota is specified on the basis of annual
surveys conducted by wildlife experts. They said that hunting of only overage
and oversize animals was allowed.
Eighty
per cent of the amount received from the trophy hunting programme goes to local
communities. The amount is spent on education, health and other development
projects. The remaining 20 per cent money is deposited in the government
exchequer.
Gilgit-Baltistan
is home to many rare species including Marco Polo sheep, ibex, markhor, urial,
blue sheep, lynx, snow leopard, wild cat, brown and black bears, wolf, fox,
marmote, chakor and and golden eagle.
Some
of these rare species face the threat of extinction and population of many
animals has been declined in the recent years.
Experts
believe that many factors are responsible for decline in the population of
these animals in the region.
Mehboob
Rabbani, chairman of Khunjerab Villagers Organisation, said that permit for
hunting of rare species also caused decline in the population of animals in the
region.
He
said the trophy hunting programme had been launched in the region in 1993 to
control illegal hunting of rare species.
The
main reason of introducing the programme was to stop illegal hunting of
animals, he added.