A Pakistani YouTuber was ordered to make animal welfare videos to own a lion

A Pakistani YouTube star has been ordered to make 12 animal welfare videos as punishment for illegally owning a lion cub.

The photo was taken of Rajab Butt, who has 5.6 million subscribers, with the cub after the owner of another YouTube channel gave it to him at his wedding last month.

Under a community service order, Butt was ordered to produce a five-minute video every month for a year to educate his audience.

The cub was taken to Lahore Safari Zoo by the authorities and named Bhatti.

Butt said in a statement that he regretted accepting the cub and acknowledged that “keeping wild animals in such conditions is inappropriate.”

“As a social media influencer, I have to create positive content. I was not authorized to keep a lion cub, and by doing so, I set a wrong example,” he added.

The court also ordered the Wildlife Department to assist Mr. Butt in producing his educational content.

A wildlife officer reported Pat to police after seeing a video he posted on his YouTube channel last month in which he welcomed the cub to his wedding.

It was given to him in a cage by Omar Dula, who runs another YouTube channel called Lion Hub.

Mr Dula claimed in court that he was still the legal owner of the animal. Local media reported that the judge ruled that Pat had seized it.

Butt said he would “provide community service through my social media platforms and spread a positive message about the rights of wild animals.”

Tariq Janjua, director of the Lahore Safari Zoo, told local media that lions cannot be domesticated, and keeping them is cruel to the animal and poses a danger to humans.