Smirking US trophy hunter sparks outrage after paying $100,000 to kill rare goat in Pakistan

Smirking US trophy hunter sparks outrage after paying $100,000 to kill his FOURTH critically endangered goat in Pakistan as he’s slammed for being ‘more twisted than the beautiful goat’s horns’

  • John Amistoso, 64, paid fortune to kill markhor in Pakistan last Saturday
  • Regularly flies over to hunt rare beast, which is also Pakistan’s national animal 
  • There are only 6,000 of them left in wild but he has killed at least four since 2013 

A serial trophy hunter who smirks with corpses of endangered animals has paid $100,000 (£78,000) to kill an extremely rare species of goat for the fourth time. 

American John Amistoso, 64 – who made his money transforming a mom and pop store into a multi-million dollar appliance empire – travelled to Pakistan last week to hunt his fourth markhor, the country’s national animal.

Fewer than 6,000 of the beasts, also known as ‘screw horn goats’, exist in the wild and most live among the mountains between Afghanistan and Pakistan. 

John Amistoso poses with a critically endangered Kashmir Markhor in Pakistan in March 2017

Mr Amistoso, who owns 11 Freds Appliance Inc. stores in Idaho and, Washington state, and Montana, is thought to have gunned down the markhor last Saturday in the Bunji area of northern Pakistan. 

He was given license to kill by Pakistani officials, who issued permits for hunters to shoot four markhors.

The government auctioned hunting permits for the rare animals in October.

The US trophy hunter is seen with a 'screw horned' Suleiman Markhor in January 2017

The US trophy hunter is seen with a ‘screw horned’ Suleiman Markhor in January 2017

Bidding started at $100,000 for a markhor, $8,000 for a blue sheep and $720 (£560) for an ibex, local reports suggest.  

Money raised from the hunts are channeled back into the community and mountain region where the animals are hunted. 

It’s the fourth time the American has travelled to the mountainous region to hunt the rare animal. 

Two posts on a page called Grand Slam Club showed Mr Amistonso posing with the bodies of Suleiman and Kashmir – two other subspecies of markhor – in January and March of 2017.

Mr Amistonso (pictured with a kill in 2013) is listed as a 'life member' on a hunter-conservation page that organises the expensive hunts

Mr Amistonso (pictured with a kill in 2013) is listed as a ‘life member’ on a hunter-conservation page that organises the expensive hunts

He was also pictured posing with the corpse of a screw horn goat after a hunt in 2013. 

Grand Slam describes itself ‘an organisation of hunter/conservationists dedicated to improving and perpetuating wild sheep and goat populations worldwide’. 

Mr Amistoso is listed on the site as ‘a life member’. 

One outraged user on Facebook said: ‘People are SICK and more twisted than the beautiful goat’s horns. 

Jon Wilson wrote: ‘I love how hunters call themselves conservationists, and say that they kill animals to save them. You cannot make it up.

‘The truth is they just enjoy killing things, and are willing to pay a lot of money to do so.’  

Another said: ‘Just be honest about your blood lust and stop pretending to care about conservation.’

On its website, his business is described as ‘Eastern Washington’s, Northern Idaho’s, and Western Montana’s largest appliance dealer’ 

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk