Markhor hunting is an arduous endeavour conducted at elevations between 2,500 and 3,500 m (8,000–12,000 ft). The main season runs from October through early December when rutting males are most active, though some hunts occur in February as animals descend with late winter snow. Guides ride horses or hike to high ridges, spend hours glassing slopes for a mature billie and then make long, careful stalks often requiring shots at steep angles. Because markhor are extremely wary and inhabit precipitous terrain, hunters must be fit and proficient with long‑range rifles. All markhor hunts are conducted under CITES permits, and around 80 percent of the trophy fee goes directly to local communities and conservation programmes.

Markhor numbers declined precipitously due to overhunting and competition with livestock, but have rebounded in Pakistan and Tajikistan thanks to community‑based conservation. Under programmes like the Torghar Conservancy, former poachers are employed as game guards and local villages receive 80 percent of hunting revenues, funding schools and clinics. These successes led the IUCN to reclassify the markhor from Endangered to Near Threatened. Nevertheless, the five recognised subspecies—Astor, Bukharan, Kashmir, Kabul and Suleiman—remain globally threatened and are listed on CITES Appendix I; hunting quotas are extremely limited and based on scientific surveys. Sustainable trophy hunting provides incentives for communities to protect habitat and reduce livestock pressure, ensuring the species’ long‑term survival.