Punjab wildlife chief says lions registered in Sheikhupura were illegally kept in Lahore, where big cats are banned
The Punjab government has begun reviewing its policy on the private keeping of dangerous big cats after a pet lion attacked a young girl in Lahore.
LAHORE:
The Punjab government initiated a review on Thursday of its policy on the private keeping of dangerous big cats following a recent incident in Lahore in which a pet lion attacked a young girl, an official said.
During a review meeting with relevant officials, it was stressed that strict decisions must be taken to control the growing population of wild animals kept in private custody.
Punjab Chief Wildlife Ranger Mubeen Elahi said a meeting of the Captive Wildlife Management Committee has been convened for Friday, where key decisions are expected regarding the future management and population control of big cats across the province. Speaking to Express News, he said that keeping big cats in residential areas was strictly prohibited under the law.
He explained that the individuals involved in the Lahore incident had declared and registered their lions in Sheikhupura, but were illegally keeping the animals in Lahore. He added that a re-inspection drive of privately kept big cats has been launched across Lahore and other parts of Punjab.
Elahi said firm measures had become unavoidable due to the increasing number of big cats in private possession. In the first phase, authorities are considering euthanising sick and incurable big cats currently housed in zoos and wildlife parks.
He clarified that the Punjab Wildlife Act allowed such action under a defined legal framework, but final approval would be sought from the Captive Wildlife Management Committee. He added that once sick animals were removed, the resulting vacant space in zoos would be used to relocate big cats recovered from illegal private custody.
According to Elahi, the recent incident had exposed weaknesses in the wildlife management system, prompting a fresh verification drive to determine whether individuals who declared ownership of big cats were keeping them at the locations originally specified.
Meanwhile, Captive Wildlife Management Committee member Badr Munir said that following legislation enacted last year, hobby breeders were given an opportunity to declare the number and gender of big cats in their possession. He said a total of 587 big cats were declared across Punjab, while 34 illegally kept animals were confiscated.
Munir added that 11 more big cats had been recovered since the Lahore incident. He said inspections of housing facilities belonging to declared big-cat owners were ongoing, and breeding licences would be issued in line with standard operating procedures.
Read More: 11 illegally kept lions recovered from Lahore’s Nawan Kot area
Wildlife officials said that keeping big cats illegally could result in fines of up to Rs5 million and imprisonment of up to seven years. They confirmed that four individuals involved in the Lahore incident were arrested.
Separately, citizens questioned the performance of the Punjab Wildlife Department, asking why action was taken only after serious incidents occurred.
A resident, Rabia Basri, said that while wildlife staff took action against people keeping parrots and sparrows at home, those keeping lions on rooftops in residential areas were not touched unless a major incident took place.
Another resident, Ahmed Hassan, said the department had previously claimed to have made Lahore free of big cats, but the recent incident had exposed those claims.
