The Punjab government of Pakistan has given permission to keep wild animals as pets but has strictly banned posting their videos on social media. Along with this, some rules have also been set for keeping these dangerous animals.
Videos of pet lions and cheetahs from Pakistan keep going viral on social media every day. People there keep these ferocious wild animals illegally in their homes. But now the government of Punjab province has given legal recognition to keeping wild animals. The cabinet has made it legal to keep five big animals of the Vidal family at home by making changes in the Wildlife Act, which includes lion, cheetah, tiger, jaguar and puma.
How much fee will have to be paid
According to ‘Dawn’, Punjab government minister Maryam Aurangzeb said on Wednesday that for the last 70 years there was no law regarding keeping these animals, due to which they were kept illegally in homes. Now there is a strict ban on showing these animals on TikTok or other social media platforms. Legal action will be taken against those who violate it.
The Wildlife Department will now give license to keep these animals, for which 50 thousand rupees will have to be paid per animal. Some rules have also been fixed for keeping such animals at home. For example, they should be kept outside the city limits. The owners of animals that are currently in residential areas will be given time to transfer these animals and in case of non-compliance, legal action and FIR will be registered.
It is also important to follow the rules
Under the new law, checkpoints will be made at major places and walking these animals at night will be completely banned. Apart from this, new rules have also been made regarding the protection of forests, in which it will be illegal to set up any coal furnace or sawmill within 5 miles of the forest boundary.
Pakistan is considered to be the leader in the matter of keeping lions. Here, from politicians to big personalities keep posting their photos with lions every day. In the year 2009, Nawaz Sharif’s nephew Salman Shahbaz had sought permission from the government that he wanted to bring Siberian lions from Canada and keep them at his bungalow. But the matter of issuing the license came in the media and then there was a ruckus in Pakistan.
Fashion of keeping lions and cheetahs
In countries like Dubai and UAE, keeping lions is considered a sign of wealth. Such videos come on social media every now and then in which people are seen exhibiting dangerous animals tied in chains. Although the government has imposed a ban on keeping such animals at home and many times heavy fines have also been imposed. But still animals are kept at home in the name of hobby and fashion.
Apart from Muslim countries, there is a trend of keeping wild animals like lion and cheetah in countries like America. According to a report, about 5 thousand cheetahs are kept in homes in 12 states of America. The number of tigers in the forests there is less than the cheetahs kept in homes. Whereas in India there is a strict law against this and keeping animals like lion and tiger at home is a crime.
