Pet lioness attack leaves minor girl injured in Lahore

LAHORE: An eight-year-old girl was injured after being attacked by a pet lioness in the Bhekewal Pind area of Lahore on Thursday, police said.

The victim, identified as Rabia, sustained injuries to her leg and ear and was shifted to Shaikh Zayed Medical Complex (SZMC) for medical treatment. Hospital sources confirmed that the child is out of danger.

Police and Punjab Wildlife Department teams immediately reached the scene. Acting on the instructions of DIG Operations Faisal Kamran, police took the lioness into custody and arrested its owners.

According to police, a resident had illegally kept the pet lioness at his home without possessing a valid license to keep a wild animal.

Further investigation revealed that two individuals, identified as Bilawal and Shujaat, had transported the lioness from Akbari Mandi in a rickshaw. At the time of the incident, three individuals were unloading the animal when it broke free and attacked the child.

Police said a case is being registered against three accused, including Azam Khokhar.

The girl’s mother said Rabia had gone to her grandmother’s house to fetch water when she was attacked outside the home by the lioness.

Authorities have warned that strict legal action will be taken against anyone found illegally keeping wild animals.

Notably, last year, a man was arrested in Lahore’s Shah Di Khui area for illegally keeping a lion without a license after the animal attacked a family, injuring three people, including two children, ARY News reported.

In that incident, the Wildlife Department confiscated the lion and transferred it to a sanctuary. An FIR was registered against the accused, Malik Bahram, son of Malik Nazim, under relevant sections of the Wildlife Act and attempted murder.

The earlier incident occurred at a farmhouse in Johar Town, where the lion escaped due to an unsecured enclosure, jumped over a wall, entered a nearby street, and attacked residents before fleeing. The injured were shifted to Jinnah Hospital for treatment.