• Big cat that managed to escape from owner’s custody on Sharea Faisal eventually captured
• Probe under way as keeping wild animals in residential areas is banned

KARACHI: A lion being illegally transported in a vehicle managed to escape from its owner’s custody near Aisha Bawani College on Sharea Faisal on Tuesday evening, creating a lot of scare among commuters and pedestrians who saw the big cat prowling on the pavements and forcing the police and the wildlife staff to capture the wild animal.

The young lion was later caught with the help of its keepers and handed over to the wildlife department.

Speaking to Dawn, Sindh Wildlife Conservator Javed Ahmed Maher said that the staff was conducting an investigation into the incident.

“It’s a pet. The incident was unusual for everyone including our staff, which is not trained in managing lions on the loose, as well as the animal that’s not used to be in the public,” he said, sharing a fact that big cats do pose a threat despite being raised in captivity.

“Fortunately, no one was hurt. But, the poor animal, too, panicked, and could hurt anyone.”

According to him, there is a complete ban on keeping big cats in residential areas as well as their transport under provincial laws and the concerned individuals would be taken to task under the law.

“A case will be registered under the Sindh wildlife protection act,” he said, adding that the lion would be shifted to the Karachi Zoological Garden.

Earlier South Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Sheraz Nazir stated that the lion’s owner was taken into custody.

“Owner Shams is a resident of the Garden area and told police he was taking the lion to a veterinarian because the animal was sick and not eating anything for the last three days.”

It might be recalled that six lions had been spotted earlier in a compound in a Gulshan-i-Hadeed area in 2020.

The matter taken up by the wildlife department was still pending in court.

Meanwhile, Interim Sindh Chief Minister retired Justice Maqbool Baqar has taken a notice of the incident and sought a report from the wildlife department on lions being kept as a pet in urban areas.

“Under which law and by whose permission was the lion kept in a residential area,” a statement issued by his office quoted him as saying.

Earlier this year, a similar incident was reported in Islamabad’s Defence Housing Authority when a leopard ran amok in the area. It was captured by the Islamabad Wildlife Management Board and Capital Development Authority after more than five hours. Three people were hurt during the episode.

Reports have earlier suggested that several people in upscale areas keep wild animals as pets, as some owners see big cats — such as leopards, lions and tigers — as symbols of wealth and power.

According to officials, Sindh is the first province in the country to enact a new wildlife law three years ago — called the Sindh Wildlife Protection, Preservation, Conservation and Management Act 2020 — to protect 326 species of birds, 107 species of crawling animals and 82 species of other animals.

Under the act, the lawful possession of any wildlife species has been attached with several stringent conditions, unlike the past practice of granting a two-liner official permit for setting up a mini-zoo, and that too without mentioning any specific species.

For instance, lawfully possessing exotic big cats is attached with 39 conditions, including one under which the owner is required to get the DNA certification for the animal, which can only be done at a handful of institutes across the country.

Besides, under the 2020 law, no new application for importing big cats will be entertained. The permit also bars citizens from keeping big cats in residential areas, and an applicant must acquire a no-objection certificate from the relevant union council, town committee and cantonment board.

Published in Dawn, August 30th, 2023