Tiger sized in Lahore after viral selfie, wildlife laws strictly enforced

LAHORE: Punjab Wildlife Department officials raided a house in Lahore’s Iqbal Town and captured a tiger that was being kept without a license.

The operation was launched after a video went viral on social media showing resident Azhar Mahmood taking a selfie with the wild animal.

According to the Punjab Wildlife Department, the tiger was being kept in an illegal cage on the roof of Mahmood’s house that did not meet safety standards. Keeping a wild animal without official permission and displaying it in public is a punishable offence under the Wildlife Act.

The Punjab government has recently introduced strict amendments to the wildlife protection laws, making it illegal to keep tigers or other wild animals without a license, display them in public or promote their presence on social media. Violators can now be punished with up to seven years in prison and a fine of up to PKR 5 million.

Provincial Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb, while appreciating the prompt action taken by the Wildlife Department, stressed that no one would be given concessions for violating the law.

She reiterated that the government, on the instructions of Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif, is committed to ensuring strict implementation of wildlife conservation regulations.