A Pakistani influencer and a private farm owner have been arrested after a 19-year-old assistant was fatally mauled during a TikTok video shoot with a captive big cat.
Noman Hassan, a social media figure with millions of followers across TikTok and Instagram, was filming with the animal at a breeding farm in Lahore on Wednesday when the attack occurred, according to police. The victim, identified only as Talha, was an employee at the facility who had been helping Hassan with the production.
Hassan, whose content features rough play with dangerous animals, allegedly instructed Talha to remove a female big cat from its enclosure, a criminal complaint reportedly stated. The animal then attacked and killed the teen. The exact species became a point of confusion: Lahore Police described the incident on X as a “lioness attack,” though the post included a photograph of a tiger.
After the attack, Hassan transported Talha to a hospital, where he attempted to deceive medical staff about the circumstances, police said. He reportedly tried to convince doctors that the teen had been attacked by a dog rather than by the captive predator.
Hassan and the farm’s owner, identified as Fayyaz, were both taken into custody following the death. Authorities are now examining whether the facility followed required safety protocols and legal regulations for keeping exotic animals.
“A passion for TikTok cannot be more important than a human life,” a Lahore police spokesperson reportedly said.
“No one can be allowed to put human life at risk in the name of a hobby or entertainment. The attempt to hide the facts and every aspect of negligence will be investigated,” the spokesperson continued.
Ownership of lions, cheetahs, tigers, pumas and jaguars remains legal in Pakistan provided the animals are registered and kept outside city limits. Police are probing whether the Lahore farm met those requirements. The investigation comes amid a broader crackdown on private big-cat ownership in the country, launched after an escaped lion attacked a mother and her two children on the streets of Lahore last year.
The fatal mauling also follows a separate incident from the previous month, when a former child actor was killed by a tiger at a British wildlife park after climbing into the animal’s enclosure.