Pet lioness attacks eight-year-old girl in Lahore's Bhekewal

An eight-year-old girl was injured after a pet lioness attacked her in Lahore's Bhekewal Pind area, police said on Wednesday, adding that the animal's owners were later arrested and the lioness recovered.

The child suffered injuries to her leg and ear and was immediately shifted to hospital, a spokesperson for the Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Operations said in a statement.

Police said the lioness had been illegally kept at a private residence in Bhekewal Pind, where the incident took place. After the attack, the suspects fled the area with the animal.

Teams from the police and the Punjab Wildlife Department launched a search operation and traced the suspects to the Nawankot area.

The spokesperson claimed that the lioness was seized and the accused were arrested within three hours following the incident.

The suspects did not possess a licence to keep a wild animal, the spokesperson said, adding that legal proceedings have been initiated against them.

In July last year, the Punjab wildlife department recovered 13 lions and arrested five people in a large-scale crackdown on illegal wildlife possession, after a pet lion escaped and injured three people in Lahore.

The crackdown against individuals keeping lions without valid licences had been initiated across the province under the special directive of Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif.