Markhor is a wild goat from the Caprinae family. It has six sub-species. The flare horn markhor is Pakistan's national animal. NWFP is the only place in the world with four markhor sub-species. Markhors are also found in Afghanistan, Kashmir, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.

Pakistan is the only place where its trophy hunting happens. The federal ministry of environment invites bids from outfitters through advertisements issued to newspapers; only local outfitters have been offering bids so far. The successful bidders then search for foreign hunters. They contact hunters' clubs in Italy and the US. In some instances, successful bidders have also got advertisements published in journals of US