For unlawfully holding a lion cub, a Pakistani YouTuber was sentenced to make 12 animal welfare videos.
The owner of another YouTube channel gave the cub to Rajab Butt, who has 5.6 million subscribers, at his wedding last month. Butt was photographed with the cub.
Mr. Butt has been mandated to create a five-minute educational video every month for a year as part of a community service requirement.
Authorities have taken the youngster to the Lahore Safari Zoo, where it has been given the name Bhatti.
In a statement, Mr. Butt admitted that “keeping wild animals in such circumstances is inappropriate” and expressed regret for taking the cub.
“I should provide uplifting material as a social media influencer. I set a bad example by keeping the lion cub when I wasn’t allowed to,” he continued.
Additionally, a court mandated that the wildlife department assist Mr. Butt in creating his instructional materials.
After viewing a video that Mr. Butt uploaded to his YouTube channel last month, in which he was shown receiving the cub during his wedding, a wildlife officer reported him to the police.
Umar Dolla, the owner of Lion Hub, another YouTube channel, gave it to him in a cage.
Mr. Dolla asserted before the judge that he was still the legitimate owner of the animal. Butt had seized it, the judge decided, according to local media.
Mr. Butt stated that he would “provide community service through my social media platforms and spread a positive message about the rights of wild animals” .
The director of the Lahore Safari Zoo, Tariq Janjua, told the local media that lions are dangerous to people and cannot be domesticated.
