Big cat kills 19-year-old farm worker during TikTok shoot in Lahore

The attack in Lahore

On Wednesday, 11 November, at around 5pm local time, a 19-year-old farm worker was attacked by a big cat while a TikTok video was being filmed at a private breeding farm in Lahore. According to the Independent, citing a police complaint filed by the victim's father, a TikToker with a large social media following took the animal out of its cage to film it, and the animal then attacked the young man. The worker was taken to a private hospital, where he died of his injuries. Accounts differ on the species. Pakistani wildlife authorities referred to a lioness, foreign media described a tiger, and stern.de reported that photos and video excerpts appear to show a tiger. Focus reported that the animal had been led on a long chain outside its enclosure during the shoot.

Arrests and the claim of a dog attack

Police say the farm owner and the TikToker, who is known online as Noman Hassan, tried to conceal what happened by presenting the death as a dog attack. A Lahore police spokesperson issued a sharp warning about the case.

“A passion for TikTok cannot be more important than a human life.”

The same spokesperson said that any attempt to hide the facts and every aspect of negligence would be investigated.

“No one can be allowed to put human life at risk in the name of a hobby or entertainment.”

Focus reported that three people were detained, with a third suspect found later, while stern.de and watson.ch reported two arrests. Authorities handed the animal over to the wildlife authority. Police said they were investigating whether the farm held a permit for the big cat and whether it followed safety protocols, and a criminal case is being opened.

Big cats as status symbols

The Independent reports that owning lions, cheetahs, tigers, pumas and jaguars is seen as a status symbol in Pakistan. It is legal if the animals are registered and a one-time fee of 50,000 rupees (£129) is paid, but regulations require such animals to be kept outside city limits. Earlier incidents include an eight-year-old boy who lost an arm to a pet lion at a private breeding farm in the Sabzazar area of Lahore, and a girl injured when a pet lion being transported on a rickshaw escaped. Stern.de reports that Punjab introduced a registration requirement for privately kept big cats in 2025, and that the provincial government announced in January 2026 that it would ban keeping them as pets.

Open questions

Focus, citing the Pakistani broadcaster 24 News HD, reported that 33 lions were found on the farm and seized, and that the farm's licence had expired in 2025. These figures do not appear in the other reports, and police have not yet established whether the farm had a valid permit. The investigation into the circumstances of the death is ongoing.