The Sindh Wildlife Department on Wednesday shifted a lion, that managed to escape from its owner’s custody on Sharea Faisal a day earlier, to the Karachi Zoological Garden as five suspects were booked for allegedly keeping the animal in their custody.

On Tuesday evening, the lion being illegally transported in a vehicle managed to escape from its owner’s custody near Aisha Bawany College, creating a panic among commuters and pedestrians who saw the big cat prowling on the streets and forcing the police and the wildlife staff to capture the wild animal.

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The young lion was later caught with the help of its keepers and handed over to the wildlife department. According to Sindh Chief Wildlife Conservator Javed Mahar, the wild animal was a pet.

Following the episode, the owner of the lion, identified as Shamsul Haq, was taken into custody along with four houseworkers by the police.

Today, a first information report was registered against the suspects by Wildlife Inspector Aijaz Ali Naundani.

The FIR, a copy of which is available with Dawn.com, invokes sections 21 (no one shall hunt, kill, trap and capture or smuggle, possess and trade in wildlife animals unless permitted), 32 (any officer below the rank of wildlife officer shall seize any wildlife that has been captured or hunted), 49 (certificate of law possession) and 50 (lawful possession) of Sindh Wildlife Act 2020.

It stated that the complainant received information at 6:45pm on Aug 29 that Shams and four of his employees were “illegally transporting” a lion and one turtle in a Suzuki. The lion had managed to escape and was roaming on Sharea Faisal.

The complainant said he along with his team rushed to the spot where they saw the lion was captured in a building’s car parking area, which was later handed over to Karachi Zoo.

The FIR added that the suspects, meanwhile, had been taken into custody by the Saddar police station house officer.

Speaking to Dawn.com, Mahar confirmed that the lion had been moved to the zoo, adding that the vehicle used in the offence was also seized.

He further stated that the case would be heard by a trial court at the District and Sessions Courts Karachi South.

Later, south additional sessions judge Shahid Ali Memon granted the suspects bail against surety of Rs200,000 each.

The judge notified the Sindh Wildlife Department’s investigation officer (IO) of the same in a letter, saying that the suspects had paid the sureties.

The letter, a copy of which is available with Dawn.com, further stated that the IO should direct the suspects to appear before the trial court.

Meanwhile, a zoo official, who did not want to be named, told Dawn.com that the animal was handed over to them late Tuesday night and has now been moved to its enclosure.

He estimated that the animal was three years old and a male. According to the official, the condition of the lion was “okay” and it had been fed.

Wildlife laws in Sindh

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.

Additional reporting by Muzhira Amin