Pakistan’s social media influencers seek to gain followers by owning big cats

In Pakistan, having a pet lion or tiger is becoming increasingly trendy. Rich businessmen, industrialists and landowners already have their own zoos. More recently, social media influencers have adopted the trend and are becoming known for owning these wild animals, which they display as symbols of power in a bid to gain more followers. There are said to be hundreds of domestic felines in Pakistan. Although animal rights organisations denounce the mistreatment of these big cats, they admit that the legal penalties are inadequate. FRANCE 24’s Shahzaib Wahlah and Sonia Ghezali report, with the collaboration of Talha Saeed.