Tiger kills 19-year-old during TikTok filming at Lahore wildlife farm
Big cat had been taken from its cage for the video despite Punjab ban on displays outside enclosures, police investigate why the wounds were first reported as a dog attack
Images
Die Fotos veröffentlichte die Polizei von Lahore nach dem TigerangriffFoto: Lahore Police Operations Wing
Foto: Lahore Police Operations Wing
Der Tiger lief an einer langen Kette außerhalb seines KäfigsFoto: Nouman hassan/TikTok
Foto: Nouman hassan/TikTok
Zunächst wurden der TikToker und der Farmbesitzer festgenommen, später nahm die Polizei laut Medienberichten noch eine dritte Person festFoto: Lahore Police Operations Wing
Foto: Lahore Police Operations Wing
Nouman Hassan mit dem Tiger – bevor der den Farmer angegriffen hatteFoto: Nouman hassan/TikTok
Foto: Nouman hassan/TikTok
A tiger taken out of its cage for a social media video killed a 19-year-old worker at a private wildlife farm in Lahore on Wednesday evening. The victim, named in police accounts as Talha, died in hospital of his injuries. His father and brother, who worked alongside him on the farm, watched the attack.
The animal was being walked outside its enclosure on a long chain for the benefit of a TikToker whom media reports identify as a man appearing online as Nouman Hassan; he had come to the farm in the Kahna district to shoot video with the cat. Lahore police released photographs from the scene after the attack. Punjab's rules on keeping big cats are strict: animals must be registered and fitted with microchips, and displays outside their enclosures are expressly forbidden. The father of the dead man has stated in his complaint that the tiger was taken from its cage for the recording — the precise practice the province bars. The farm's licence is reported to have expired in 2025, and wildlife authorities who took custody of the tiger found 33 lions on the property as well, all of them confiscated. Police arrested the farm's owner, Fayyaz, and the TikToker, later taking a third person into custody. A criminal case has been opened, covering the licence, the site's safety arrangements and possible negligence.
After the mauling, an attempt was made to present Talha's injuries as the work of a dog. Who made that attempt — and why — is now part of the police investigation.