In pictures: Kuwaiti authorities catch lion in residential district

Kuwaiti security personnel caught a lion that was wandering in a residential district in the country on Wednesday and handed the animal to the zoo, the official Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) reported.

The animal was captured in the Kabad region on Wednesday after a complaint was made to the interior ministry, an official said.

Personnel from the Public Security, the Environment Police and Al Najdah Police rushed to the location where the lion was seen wandering freely.

The authorities reacted “rapidly” and caught the lion in a “very short period of time”, Ali Al Gattan, the deputy director general of Kuwait Livestock Authority said in a statement.

Al Qattan indicated that the lion might have escaped from the owner who kept it as a pet.

The owner of the animal has not yet been identified, but efforts are on to find him with support from the interior ministry, he said.

Legal procedures will be taken against the owner because the law forbids raising a wild animal in residential homes since they pose a threat to people’s safety, Al Gattan added.

Meanwhile the interior ministry also issued a statement confirming that the lion – which appeared in a video clip on social media – was captured and that procedures were underway to summon its owner.

Article 101 of the environmental protection law and its amendments stipulate that the maximum penalty for such cases is three years in jail or a KD50 ($165) fine.