Kashmir Outrage After Video Shows Alleged Killing of Rare Markhor in Kazinag National Park
A video shot inside the snow-covered Kazinag National Park in north Kashmir shows two men allegedly beheading a protected wild goat—the Astor markhor (Capra falconeri)—with an axe. The footage has sparked widespread outrage and led to calls for an independent probe into the alleged hunting incident.
The allegations of markhor hunting have surfaced at a sensitive time, as Jammu and Kashmir’s Wildlife Department is set to conduct its annual census of the horned animal, which is considered vulnerable due to habitat loss, grazing pressure, and other human activities.
A senior official from the Jammu and Kashmir Wildlife Department said the controversial video, which has recently come into public view, was actually filmed in February 2022. At that time, a team of trekkers and wildlife officials had discovered the carcass of the animal. According to the official, it appeared to be a case of predation by a leopard.
Speaking to The Wire, the official said a wildlife team visited the site on February 27 that year, removed the skull from the animal, and preserved it at Dachigam National Park for research purposes. A fact-finding inquiry conducted at the time had ruled out the involvement of poachers, the official added.
Requesting anonymity, the official said, “A report with photographic evidence was submitted to the then Wildlife Warden (North), and it is on record. The staff filmed the video, and the rest of the carcass was left in the field.”
The 53-second video, now circulating publicly for the first time, shows a wildlife official in the Mithwan area of snowbound Kazinag Park holding a small axe in his right hand and bending over the bloodied, motionless animal near a tree.
The official is seen repeatedly striking the neck of the protected animal with the axe, while another official holds the horns with both hands to steady the skull.
At least three officials can be heard talking to each other in the video. Towards the end, the official holding the horns tells the others that the body should “disappear.” “Is one minute (of video) enough?” the person filming asks. “Yes,” the officials reply, reiterating their intent to dispose of the dead animal.
Questioning the “alleged hunting incident,” a group of civil society activists in Jammu and Kashmir on Friday (January 16) demanded an “independent” and “time-bound” investigation.
Protected under Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, the Astor markhor is one of the largest wild goat species in the world and is known for its distinctive corkscrew-shaped horns. It is listed as ‘Near Threatened’ on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List and, in India, is found only in the Pir Panjal range of Jammu and Kashmir.
The Jammu and Kashmir Right to Information (RTI) Movement, a transparency group led by activist Sheikh Ghulam Rasool, has demanded an investigation into the alleged role of wildlife officials and unnamed “NGO partners and community-based programme operatives” in the incident. However, the wildlife department official dismissed the allegations, saying, “Some NGOs are deliberately portraying this video as a poaching case for their personal interests to discredit the department’s conservation efforts.”
The 2025–26 markhor census is set to begin in Kazinag National Park, Hirpora Wildlife Sanctuary, and Tatakutti Wildlife Sanctuary in Jammu and Kashmir.
A wildlife official explained that the census is conducted during winter months, when heavy snowfall in higher altitudes forces the animals to move to lower elevations, making them easier to spot and improving the reliability of research.
An official from the Wildlife Trust of India said the organisation has been working with the Jammu and Kashmir Wildlife Protection Department for nearly two decades on markhor conservation and census activities. Questioning the involvement of private NGOs in markhor conservation, Rasool—along with the Jammu and Kashmir Forest Rights Coalition, Gujjar-Bakerwal Youth Welfare Conference, and two other civil society groups—said in a joint statement that the Wildlife Department has become “a rubber-stamp institution used to justify wrong decisions, conceal failures, and protect powerful interests.”
Calling the association a “monopoly over wildlife conservation,” the statement alleged that the government has “repeatedly” awarded “projects and funding” to “select NGOs without any competitive process, transparency, or public scrutiny.”
The statement further claimed, “This NGO-official nexus has turned conservation into a funding industry, sidelined local communities and independent experts, suppressed dissent and critical evaluation, and exploited wildlife crises and alleged threats to secure more funds without accountability.”
Civil society groups have also demanded an “independent” audit of funds spent on markhor conservation and recovery programmes in Jammu and Kashmir through NGOs, consultancies, and other donor-funded interventions. However, the wildlife official denied any wrongdoing, calling the controversy an outcome of rivalry among NGOs.
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