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Better care: The confiscated lion cub growling inside his enclosure at the Safari Zoo in Lahore. — AFP
A Pakistani YouTube star who was gifted a lion cub on his wedding day has avoided jail after promising a judge to upload animal rights videos for a year.
Rajab Butt has one of the largest online followings in the South Asian country and his week-long nuptials in late December were plastered over celebrity gossip websites.
When a sleepy lion cub, resembling young Simba from the 2019 Lion King film, was presented to him in a gold-chained cage in front of thousands of guests who partied late into the night in the eastern megacity of Lahore, pictures spread rapidly online.
Rajab captioned a video of the event “it’s raining gifts”, racking up nearly 10 million views.
The morning after, police raided his house, confiscated the cub and kept the newly-wed in custody overnight.
Police officers found the lion cub roaming around the house garage.
“It was in a poor condition, as it was very cold,” said Faisal Mushtaq, an inspector from the Punjab provincial wildlife department.
Last week, Rajab pleaded guilty to owning an undocumented wild animal but the judge waived a possible fine and prison sentence of up to two years for a more tailored punishment.
Every month for one year, he must post a five-minute video dedicated to animal rights, said the order by judge Hamid Ul Rahman Nasir.
The social media influencer agreed to the conditions, after admitting in a court statement that he “set a poor example” by accepting the gift and going on to “glorify it”.
Rajab is one of the country’s highest-paid YouTube stars and usually posts videos about his family’s daily life, from arguments to new car purchases.
The gifted lion cub, which hasn’t been named, is now enjoying the winter sun in an open pen at Lahore’s sprawling Safari Zoo on the edge of the city, under the watchful eye of a handler.
A week after the YouTuber was arrested, an adult lion escaped from a cage, running through the narrow streets of a Lahore neighbourhood as residents clambered to their rooftops.
The full-grown adult male was eventually shot dead by a security guard, prompting heated outrage on social media about the dangers of keeping a big cat in a residential area.
Big cats are imported and bred across Pakistan, seen as symbols of wealth and power to the elite that own them.
Last year, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, which rules the government, banned supporters from bringing lions – the symbol of the party – to political rallies.
However, stringent new regulations banning private ownership of big cats in residential areas are currently making their way through Punjab’s provincial government.
Breeders would have to buy a licence and have at least four hectares of land on a site approved by wildlife officials. — AFP