An American trophy hunter is currently receiving heat for a recent expedition to the northern Himalayan region of Gilgit-Baltistan in Pakistan. Bryan Kinsel Harlan, from Texas, paid $110,000 to hunt and kill a rare mountain goat. In the photograph below, he proudly kneels beside the kill.
“It was an easy and close shot. I am pleased to take this trophy”, Mr. Harlan told the Pakistani press.
Harlan is the third American to visit Pakistan to kill a markhor goat. The wild animal is believed to be endangered. In 2011, there were just about 2,500 markhor goats in that region. Over the past years, the population has dwindled immensely, largely due to deforestation, military activities, local poaching, and unregulated trophy hunting.
The picture prompted outrage on social media. People are mainly angered by the lack of laws banning or regulating hunting. Despite the fierce backlash, Harlan remains proud of his adventure.
US citizen #BryanHarlan who hunted an AstoreMarkhor few days ago at GB has said that Pakistan is more peaceful country than Mexico. if govt of Pak govt could put some investment in to tourism sector they could do great for this beautiful country.
— Tanveer Ahmed (@Mountain_Man007) February 7, 2019
Thank you #BryanKinselHarlan pic.twitter.com/91rd3rjghZ
The video of Harlan’s hunting expedition depicts him climbing a cliff. He then shoots a male markhor which was sitting next to a young goat.
In the next footage, Harlan expressed his gratitude for being “welcomed with open arms.” He called Pakistan a safe destination for tourists and recommended it to American travelers.
Pakistan has allocated five sanctuaries in India for the rare mountain goats to roam freely and breed, to prevent the markhor goat from going extinct. Authorities in the country also allow hunters that have paid large amounts of money, to hunt markhor goats in the region. They say that the effort will protect the endangered species from potential extinction.
Reference: Truth Theory
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