Lion owners arrested after an attack on woman and her 2 children in Pakistan

A 4-year-old lion named Simba, who was rescued from Syria by the animal rights group Four Paws, is released into an enclosure at the Lionsrock Lodge and Big Cat Sanctuary in Bethlehem, South Africa, Monday, Feb. 26, 2018. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)

LAHORE — The owners of a pet lion that escaped from a farmhouse and injured a woman and her two children have been arrested in the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore, authorities said Sunday.

The arrest comes after dramatic video footage surfaced showing the lion leaping over a wall before attacking the victims in a residential area.

The woman and her 5- and 7-year-old children sustained injuries to their faces and arms on Wednesday night when the lion escaped from its cage, police official Faisal Kamran said.

According to a police report, the children’s father told police that the lion’s owners stood by and watched as the animal clawed at his family, making no effort to restrain it. The lion later returned to the owners’ farmhouse and was relocated to a wildlife park, police said.

Keeping exotic animals such as lions is considered a status symbol among some wealthy Pakistanis, despite the legal requirements and high fees associated with ownership.

The Associated Press