Wildlife Rangers in Lahore arrested suspects involved in skinning a dead African lion after a video of the incident went viral on social media, officials said on Saturday.
The Wildlife Rangers launched an investigation and conducted raids after the video circulated online. Lahore Deputy Chief Wildlife Ranger Sakhi Muhammad Joiya said, “The suspects were operating an illegal taxidermy business in the Begum Kot area, where skins of dead wild animals were removed and preserved”.
According to Joiya, the main suspect, identified as Haroon, had been arrested and a case registered against him, while other suspects managed to flee during the raid. Wildlife officials also recovered a large number of stuffed animals from the suspect’s residence during the search operation.
However, officials said the remains of the lion shown in the video have not yet been recovered.