By Staff reporter
LAHORE: Punjab authorities seized 13 lions and arrested five people on Saturday in a province-wide crackdown on illegal wildlife ownership, a day after a pet lion attacked a woman and her children in Lahore.
Police-released closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage showed the lion pouncing on the woman, knocking her down, then slashing at her five- and seven-year-old children, leaving gashes on their arms and faces.
Officers nabbed three suspects who fled the scene, and the lion was seized and relocated to a wildlife park on Friday. Punjab’s Wildlife and Parks Department swiftly launched a province-wide operation, targeting unlicensed lion owners.
“This operation is being carried out under a zero-tolerance policy and has already led to significant progress,” a provincial government statement said.
Inspectors fanned out to 22 locations across Punjab, seizing 13 lions, arresting five individuals, and registering five first information reports (FIRs), with two additional actions still pending.
The operation’s reach stretched across multiple cities. In Lahore, authorities recovered four lions, arrested four people, sealed one premise, and filed three FIRs. In Gujranwala, four more lions were confiscated, with one FIR in process. Faisalabad saw two lions seized, one premise sealed, and one FIR underway, while in Multan, three lions were taken, one person arrested, and two FIRs lodged.
A video shared by the provincial chief minister’s social media team also revealed the seizure of a leopard, hinting at the broader scope of the illegal wildlife trade.
Provincial senior minister Marriyum Aurangzeb condemned the practice. “The illegal trade of wildlife is intolerable, and there will be no compromise on public safety,” she said in a statement. “Illegally keeping lions is not only a violation of the law but also a grave risk to society.”
Aurangzeb said the enforcement of wildlife laws would be “strict and indiscriminate,” urging citizens to report illegal possession by calling the Wildlife helpline at 1107.
“The Punjab government is fully committed to ensuring the strict enforcement of wildlife protection laws and will continue its operations against all those involved in illegal wildlife activities.”
The fascination with exotic pets, particularly big cats, runs deep in Punjab, where such animals have long been flaunted as emblems of privilege and power. But the risks have grown impossible to ignore.
In December 2024, another lion escaped its enclosure in a different Lahore neighborhood, terrorising residents until a security guard shot it dead.
That incident spurred the provincial government to enact new laws regulating the sale, purchase, breeding, and ownership of big cats. Now, owners must secure licenses, residential keeping is banned, breeders face hefty registration fees, and farms must span at least 10 acres.
“The wildlife department has reiterated that the law is equal for everyone and no exceptions will be made,” the government statement said.
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