logo
Escaped lion attacks woman and children in Pakistan street

Escaped lion attacks woman and children in Pakistan street

Arab News3 days ago
LAHORE: An escaped pet lion chased a woman and two children down a busy street in Pakistan's Lahore, police said Friday, with dramatic footage showing the big cat leaping a wall before pouncing on them.
CCTV footage released by the police showed the lion jumping the barrier around its home and pursuing a woman carrying her shopping on Thursday night.
The lion jumped on her back, knocking her to the ground, the footage showed.
A police report quoted the father as saying the lion then turned to his five-year-old and seven-year-old children, and clawed their arms and faces.
All three were taken to hospital but were not in a critical condition.
The owners who ran out of the house were 'amused to see their lion attack' the passersby, the father added in the report.
Police said Friday they had arrested three men.
'The suspects fled from the spot, taking the lion with them. They were arrested within 12 hours of the incident,' the office of the Deputy Inspector General Operations in Lahore told AFP.
The lion, an 11-month-old male, has been confiscated by police and sent to a wildlife park.
Officials at the facility said that the animal appears to be in good health.
Keeping exotic animals, especially big cats, as pets has long been seen as a sign of privilege and power in Punjab, the most populous province of the country.
In December 2024, an adult lion escaped from its enclosure in another neighborhood of Lahore, terrorizing residents before being shot dead by a security guard.
The incident prompted the provincial government to pass new laws regulating the sale, purchase, breeding and ownership of big cats.
The law now requires owners to obtain licenses for the animals which are barred from being kept in residential areas.
Breeders have to pay a hefty fee for registration, while farms have to be a minimum of 10 acres in size.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

3 Dead, 10 Injured in South Philadelphia Shooting and a Person Is in Custody, Police Say
3 Dead, 10 Injured in South Philadelphia Shooting and a Person Is in Custody, Police Say

Al Arabiya

timean hour ago

  • Al Arabiya

3 Dead, 10 Injured in South Philadelphia Shooting and a Person Is in Custody, Police Say

Three people were killed and 10 others injured in a shooting early Monday in a South Philadelphia neighborhood, authorities said. The three people who died were adults, and two of the wounded were juveniles, Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel told reporters. The shooting happened shortly before 1 a.m. along a residential street in Grays Ferry, he said. 'We have numerous rounds that were shot on the block,' Bethel said. Police said one person with a weapon was taken into custody. Bethel said police had already responded to the same block late Saturday into early Sunday and some arrests were made. It wasn't immediately known what prompted the shooting. 'This is coward want-to-be-thugs stuff,' Bethel said. The shooting happened after other shootings in the city and elsewhere around the US over the Fourth of July weekend. Those included at least eight people struck by gunfire near a South Philadelphia nightclub.

Top South African official accuses police minister of colluding with crime syndicates
Top South African official accuses police minister of colluding with crime syndicates

Al Arabiya

time2 hours ago

  • Al Arabiya

Top South African official accuses police minister of colluding with crime syndicates

A South African top security official accused the police minister and a deputy national commissioner of colluding with crime syndicates, sparking public uproar. In an unprecedented move, General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, head of the police in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, called a press conference Sunday and claimed that Senzo Mchunu and Shadrack Sibiya had interfered with sensitive police investigations. He also alleged both men disbanded a crucial crime unit tasked with investigating repeated politically motivated killings in the province after it was revealed that crime syndicates were behind the killings. Mkhwanazi claimed his investigation showed that some politicians, law enforcement (SAPS – South African Police Service), metro police, correctional services, prosecutors, and judiciary were being controlled by drug cartels, as well as businesspeople. He said he had evidence supporting his claims, yet to be made public. South Africa has one of the highest crime rates in the world, and allegations of corruption within the police are not new. However, it is unusual for high-ranking security officials to accuse each other of involvement with criminals. Mchunu has denied Mkhwanazi's claims, calling them 'baseless.' 'The Minister of Police will never allow his integrity, that of the Ministry, or the SAPS at large to be undermined by insinuations made without evidence or due processes from anyone, including Lieutenant General Mkhwanazi,' Mchunu said in a statement. President Cyril Ramaphosa, who is currently in Brazil attending a BRICS Leaders Summit, said he would see to Mkhwanazi's allegations on his return home this week. 'This is a matter of grave national security concern that is receiving the highest priority attention,' Ramaphosa's office said in a statement, adding that the trading of accusations between the country's top police officials could undermine public confidence. The African National Congress party, which leads the country's unity government, said the issues raised by Mkhwanazi were of grave concern and it had been assured that Ramaphosa would attend to them. The Institute for Security Studies, an independent crime watchdog, said these accusations should be thoroughly probed as they could erode public confidence in South Africa's police.

Pakistan confiscates 18 lions kept as pets in crackdown after attack
Pakistan confiscates 18 lions kept as pets in crackdown after attack

Al Arabiya

time2 hours ago

  • Al Arabiya

Pakistan confiscates 18 lions kept as pets in crackdown after attack

Eighteen lions kept illegally as pets have been confiscated in Pakistan'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 hospitalized after the attack last week but their injuries were not life-threatening, provincial wildlife officials said. The lion, which was kept without a license 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, police said. 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 license, without adhering to the required cage size, and without following other standard operating procedures,' Elahi said. The punishment is up to seven years in jail. As 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. There are 584 lions and tigers in homes and breeding farms in Punjab, Pakistan's most populous province, he said. 'I know plenty of people who keep big cats as pets,' said Qaim Ali, 30, who himself had a lion but sold it after it attacked his nephew. 'Most of them are not interested in breeding but keep them as a symbol of power and influence in society.'

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store