UAE gifts 18 precious lions to Pakistan

ABU DHABI (92 News) – United Arab Emirates (UAE) Wildlife Department on Wednesday gifted 18 precious lions to Pakistan. According to the details, Prime Minister Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum announced to gift 18 lions including four white tigers, six Bangal tigers and eight African lions, worth Rs100 million, to Lahore zoo of Pakistan in coming week. UAE are gifting these animals to Punjab Wildlife Department for the purpose of breeding in order to prevent extinction. Animals will include five white tigers, six Bengal tigers and eight African lions, Climate Advisor Amin Aslam expressed. Amin Aslam said that the animals will be imported from Al-Nakheel Wildlife Center of UAE through a special C-130 plane to Lahore. UAE will also bear the customs duty and CAA charges for the wild animals. To tackle the adversely affected problem like extinction and illegal hunting of animals, Punjab Wildlife Department submitted a law draft to government to impose strict fines and punishments. An amendment in Punjab Wildlife Act 2007 was proposed to increase the period of maximum imprisonment for illegal hunting two to five years, while the minimum imprisonment should be set at three years with minimum fine of Rs50,000. According to a press release by the Ministry of Climate Change, the Lahore Zoo came to know that Al Nakhi Wildlife Centre, Dubai was in possession of more than 400 lions and requested the UAE premier to donate a few to Pakistan. “After correspondence with the said facility and fulfilling the legal requirements, Lahore Zoo is going to receive the gift,” read the statement. The ministry also said that the microchipped lions were examined in detail, screened for different diseases by veterinarians in Dubai, and subsequently deemed fit for transportation to Pakistan. A total of 18 animals — three male and one female white tigers; four male and two female Bengal tigers; and four pairs of African lions — are being sent. All the animals are aged between one to five years. “This gift of big cats will prove a corridor to exchange different species of zoo animals and birds between zoos of Pakistan and Dubai,” the press release said.