Pakistan confiscates 18 lions kept as pets in crackdown after attack

Men who are taking care of a pet lion stand by its cage after the animal was confiscated during a Wildlife Department raid targeting private lion owners, in Lahore, Pakistan July 4. 2025. - Punjab Wildlife and Parks Department handout via Reuters

LAHORE: Eighteen lions kept illegally as pets have been confiscated in Pakistan's Punjab region, authorities said on Monday (July 7) 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 hospitalised after the attack last week but their injuries were not life-threatening, provincial wildlife officials said.