LIONS ARE NOT PETS
Development comes after pet lion attacks and injures two kids and their mother on Thursday in northeastern Punjab province
Berk Kutay Gokmen |07.07.2025 - TRT/AA
ISTANBUL
Eighteen lions kept illegally as pets have been confiscated in Pakistan’s northeastern Punjab province, local media reported on Monday.
The development came as authorities launched a crackdown after a lion attacked and injured two children and their mother on Thursday night in Lahore, the provincial capital, according to the daily Dawn.
Since then, according to the Express Tribune, another daily, 18 big cats have been confiscated from unregistered premises in Lahore, Gujranwala, Faisalabad and Multan, and eight individuals have been arrested.
Badr Munir, a wildlife conservationist, praised the crackdown, stating that nowhere in the world are dangerous animals kept as pets in residential homes.
“Unfortunately, in Pakistan, it has become a bizarre status symbol—people drive around with big cats, make TikTok videos, and then panic when one escapes or attacks,” the Tribune quoted him as saying.
Although official records list 587 registered big cats in Punjab, officials suspect the real number is much higher, citing widespread illegal ownership in both cities and rural areas.
Pakistan confiscates 18 illegal lions after one escapes, attacks woman and children
Pakistani authorities confiscated the lions that were kept as pets illegally after one of them escaped and attacked a woman and two children in the country's Punjab province.
People keeping lions and other big cats illegally can face up to 7 years in jailAs well as confiscating the 18 animals, the department raided 38 lion and tiger breeding farms and arrested eight people for violating the rules, he said, adding that all farms will be inspected by the end of this week.
Pakistani authorities confiscated the lions that were kept as pets illegally after one of them escaped and attacked a woman and two children in the country's Punjab province.
A lion roars inside its enclosure at a zoo in Peshawar, Pakistan December 13, 2021.(photo credit: REUTERS/FAYAZ AZIZ)
By REUTERS
JULY 7, 2025
Pakistan security forces confiscated eighteen lions illegally as pets in the country's Punjab region, authorities said on Monday as they launched a crackdown after one escaped from a house and attacked a woman and two children.
The woman suffered scratches and bruises, and the two children, aged five and seven, were hospitalised after the attack last week. Provincial wildlife officials said that their injuries were not life-threatening.
The lion, which was kept without a licence in a house in Lahore, was confiscated and sent to a local safari park, said Mubeen Elahi, director general of the provincial Wildlife and Parks Department. The owner was later arrested, according to police.
Keeping exotic animals as pets has been fueled by social media, with owners often showing off their animals online as status symbols.
“According to the new regulations for keeping big cats, no individual is allowed to keep a lion without a licence, without adhering to the required cage size, and without following other standard operating procedures,” Elahi said.
Pakistan security forces confiscated eighteen lions illegally as pets in the country's Punjab region, authorities said on Monday as they launched a crackdown after one escaped from a house and attacked a woman and two children.
The woman suffered scratches and bruises, and the two children, aged five and seven, were hospitalised after the attack last week. Provincial wildlife officials said that their injuries were not life-threatening.
The lion, which was kept without a licence in a house in Lahore, was confiscated and sent to a local safari park, said Mubeen Elahi, director general of the provincial Wildlife and Parks Department. The owner was later arrested, according to police.
Keeping exotic animals as pets has been fueled by social media, with owners often showing off their animals online as status symbols.
“According to the new regulations for keeping big cats, no individual is allowed to keep a lion without a licence, without adhering to the required cage size, and without following other standard operating procedures,” Elahi said.
Men, who take care of the pet lion in a cage, stand, after a lion was confiscated during a raid, by the Wildlife department, against the owners of the pet lions, in Lahore, Pakistan July 4. 2025.
(credit: PUNJAB WILDLIFE AND PARKS DEPARTMENT/HANDOUT VIA REUTERS)
People keeping lions and other big cats illegally can face up to 7 years in jailAs well as confiscating the 18 animals, the department raided 38 lion and tiger breeding farms and arrested eight people for violating the rules, he said, adding that all farms will be inspected by the end of this week.
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