Science - USA (2022-01-14)

watchers) has resulted in unchecked illegal

hunting by those who use or sell markhor

meat. Feral dogs have killed 392 markhors

in the Chitral Gol National Park in the past

15 years ( 4 ). The negligence of the govern-

ment and local communities and the lack

of resources and scientific research have

impeded markhor conservation efforts.

Urgent action is needed while the mark-

hor population’s survival remains possible.

The Pakistani government should imme-

diately reinstate the salaries of watchers

( 5 ), strictly monitor illegal hunting of the

markhor, regulate the population of feral

dogs, and raise awareness in the local com-

munity. Trophy hunting, which was legal-

ized when the markhor population was

higher ( 6 ), should now be banned unless

an independent survey confirms stable

population numbers. Finally, the wildlife

department should allow national and

international researchers to conduct inde-

pendent surveys to better conserve this

mountain monarch.

Shahid Ahmad and Ghulam Nabi*

Key Laboratory of Animal Physiology,

Biochemistry, and Molecular Biology, College

SCIENCE science.org 14 JANUARY 2022 • VOL 375 ISSUE 6577 153

PHOTO: ZAHRAN CR/500PX/GETTY IMAGES

Edited by Jennifer Sills

Pakistan’s markhor

population in decline

The flare-horned markhor (Capra f.

falconeri), a subspecies of the national

animal of Pakistan, is native to the high

mountain landscapes in northern Pakistan

( 1 ). In 2015, the International Union for

Conservation of Nature (IUCN) downlisted

the species from Endangered to Near

Threatened ( 2 ), a reasonable decision at

the time; between 2012 and 2016, the flare-

horned markhor increased from 1900 to

2800 individuals ( 1 ). However, the popula-

tion has drastically decreased since then.

Urgent steps must be taken to accurately

assess the markhor’s status, update the

IUCN listing, and reverse the recent popu-

lation decline.

The flare-horned markhor population

grew to 2868 individuals in 2019 but has

since dropped to fewer than 800 ( 3 ). The

lack of funding for local national park

employees who monitor wildlife (known as

Pakistan’s flare-horned markhor (Capra f. falconeri) is once again at risk.

LETTERS

of Life Sciences, Hebei Normal University, Hebei,

Shijiazhuang 050010, China

*Corresponding author.

Email: [email protected]

REFERENCES AND NOTES

1. L. Adhikari et al., Environ. Challenges 11 , 100175 (2021).


2. S. Michel, T. Rosen Michel, “Capra falconeri (errata ver-
   sion published in 2016)” (IUCN Red List of Threatened
   Species, 2015).


3. Mukhamuddin, “Markhor population dwin-
   dling in Chitral,” The Express Tribune (2021);
   https://tribune.com.pk/story/2326810/
   markhor-population-dwindling-inchitral.


4. R. H. Khattak et al., Braz. J. Biol. 20 , 83 (2021).


5. H. Hayder, “Markhor population in Chitral drops 35%
   since 2019 due to KP govt’s decisions,” ProPakistani
   (2021); https://propakistani.pk/2021/10/29/markhor-
   population-in-chitral-drops-35-since-2019-due-to-
   kp-govts-decisions/.


6. W. Rashid, J. Shi, S. Dong, H. Sultan, Animals 10 , 597
   (2020).
   10.1126/science.abn0745

Central nervous system

weapons dealt a blow

Since its adoption in 1993, the Chemical

Weapons Convention has banned the

development, possession, and use of

weaponized toxic chemicals ( 1 ). However,

whether this prohibition also applied to

law enforcement use of certain agents

that act on the central nervous system

(CNS) remained the subject of debate. In

December 2021, after years of applied sci-

entific research [e.g., ( 2 – 5 )], public aware-

ness raising, and advocacy, the Conference

of States Parties to the Chemical Weapons

Convention adopted a landmark Decision

to effectively outlaw the aerosolized use

of CNS-acting chemical agents for law

enforcement purposes ( 6 ). This is wel-

come news for those who want to ensure

that benignly intended scientific research

is not misused for hostile purposes, but

the policy leaves room for improvement.

Although 85 countries supported the

Decision, including Australia, Switzerland,

and the United States, the vote was

opposed by 10 countries, which may not

feel constrained by its prohibitions ( 7 ).

Notable among the opponents was Russia,

whose security forces used aerosolized

fentanyl derivatives to end the 2002

Moscow theater siege, causing the deaths

of more than 120 hostages from poisoning

and asphyxiation ( 8 ). Subsequent dual-use

research into CNS-acting chemicals has

been reported by Russian scientists as well

as scientists from China and Iran, who also

opposed this Decision ( 9 ).

Furthermore, the Decision is limited

in scope. It explicitly prohibits only aero-

solized CNS weapons, excluding other

delivery mechanisms such as law enforce-

ment dart guns ( 9 ). Similarly, future