When shooting a video for TikTok, the lion to death tore the guy

A Pakistani teenager was torn to death by a lion while filming a clip for TikTok in a private nursery in Lahore, the Independent writes.

The 19-year-old victim, whose name was Taha, reportedly worked on a farm in the town of Lahna.

Noman Hassan, who has about 2.5 million followers on the popular social network and another 928,000 on TikTok, came to the farm and called Taha to shoot a video of the lion for social media, the BBC reported, citing a complaint to police.

Hassan is alleged to have taken the lion out of its cage and started making videos. It was at this point that the lion suddenly attacked the teenager, according to a complaint filed by his father, Munir Ahmed.

Hassan took Taha to a local private hospital, but the injured guy died from his injuries.

Police later arrested Noman Hassan and the farm owner, identified as Fayyazah, and sealed the premises.

Police said those arrested tried to hide the truth and presented the incident as a dog attack. “The passion for TikTok cannot be more important than human life,” a Lahore police spokesman said.

“No one shall be allowed to put human life at risk in the name of hobbies or entertainment. An attempt to conceal the facts and all aspects of negligence will be investigated.”.

Police said they were looking into whether the kennel had permission to keep the large predator and whether safety rules were followed.

Norman Hassan's social media accounts are filled with hundreds of videos of him interacting with big cats, sometimes roughing them up.

In Pakistan, the ownership of lions, cheetahs, tigers, cougars and jaguars is considered a status symbol and is legal provided the animals are registered and a one-time fee of 50,000 rupees (approximately $150) is paid. However, regulations require such animals to be kept outside the city.

In January, an eight-year-old boy lost his arm after being attacked by a tame lion at a private kennel in the Sabzazar district of Lahore.

In another case, the girl suffered injuries when a tame lion, which was being transported on a rickshaw, escaped.

Last year, Pakistani authorities began cracking down on the illegal keeping of lions as pets after an incident in Lahore in which a lion escaped and injured a woman and her two children.