Police make arrests after pet lion attacks child in residential neighborhood of Karachi 

KARACHI: Police in Karachi said on Friday a case had been registered against a group of people and two arrested after a child was attacked by a lion being walked by his owner in a residential neighborhood of the port city on the evening of May 14, as seen in a video that has since gone viral.
Keeping wild cats as pets is not uncommon in Pakistan, where wealthy businessmen have been known to operate private zoos and sometimes parade the animals for the public.
Last year, the Sindh wildlife department ordered to confiscate four lions and two tigers kept as pets by a resident of Karachi and seen roaming freely in a compound. In 2017, police in Pakistan arrested a man who took his pet lion for a night-time drive through the streets of Karachi after a video of the incident went viral on social media. In 2015, a pet lioness gave birth to five cubs in the central city of Multan, media said at the time.
According to estimates, over 200 lions are currently being kept as pets by residents of Karachi. 
“A case has been registered against the owner, Osama, his brother and friends,” deputy superintendent of police Nasir Bukhari told Arab News about the May 14 incident, adding that the owner’s brother and a guard had been arrested while Osama himself was still at large. “The lion has been concealed at an undisclosed location and we are trying to recover both the lion and arrest the owner and other persons.”
The Sindh wildlife chief, Javed Mahar, said the possession of big wild cats was illegal in Sindh, and the administration had not issued a single license to keep such a pet.
Under the rules, he said, a licensee was entitled to possess big cats but could not keep them in residential areas in cities. A licensee was also required to provide “proper veterinary and health care” for the animals and keep them on a minimum 400 square yards area, 50 of which was to be reserved for vegetation such as grassy ground, trees and dead wood logs including an elevated artificial rockery.
According to regulations, the display of wild cats at public places, processions, gatherings, circuses, media talk shows and while traveling in the vehicle is also strictly prohibited.