The Punjab fauna department knocked out two lions on Monday which were kept illegally by a Gujranwala resident. A case was recorded under the Wildlife Act and the animals were seized.
A video has become viral on social networks showing a man, identified as Luqman, carrying firearms and parading a lion on a leash in a residential area.
The images caused panic among local residents, who feared that the lion could attack someone.
On the instructions of the fauna director of fauna, Sheikh Zahid Iqbal, the Senior Wildlife Muhammad Umair was responsible for locating the suspect and taking the appropriate measures. A raid was carried out on a farm in the Batala Sharam Singh region, where the two lions were found illegally.
According to Ranger Umair, the suspect had neither declared the animals to the authorities nor obtained any license for their possession. A case was also filed under the Wildlife Act against another individual, Muhammad Akram, who was present on the farm.
However, Luqman, the man presented in the Tiktok viral video, has not yet been arrested.
It is important to note that by virtue of the 1974 Punjab Wildlife Act, as modified in 2025, keeping or displaying large cats in urban areas is a criminal offense.
Punjab fauna authorities have prohibited the holding of large cats in populated areas and have also prohibited the sharing of dangerous videos involving large cats on social networks.
