Former Pakistan all-rounder Shahid Afridi had recently posted a picture in which a lion was spotted behind his daughter. There was another picture went viral on Twitter where Afridi himself was seen posing with a pet lion. The post had made Twitterati furious as they thought it is a violation of animal rights.
Great to spend time with loved ones. Best feeling in the world to have my daughter copy my wicket taking celebrations. And yes don't forget to take care of animals, they too deserve our love and care :) pic.twitter.com/CKPhZd0BGD
— Shahid Afridi (@SAfridiOfficial) June 9, 2018
Now the Sindh Wildlife (SWL) department has stepped in and it will now probe the presence of the lion at his home. "We will find out what the lion was doing in Afridi's home," they said.
As per reports, SWL Conservator Taj Muhammad Shaikh confirmed that the lion's owner Hassan Hussain held the animal's license. "I even informed the SWL department before taking my lion to Afridi's home," Hussain said.
Afridi too opened up on the controversy. He took Facebook and wrote, "I respect that animals need free space and wildlife for survival, however, I would like to state facts for the record. These pictures are of my house and not of any zoo, the animals displayed in the pictures were brought to my house for showing it to my kids, the owner has tamed them since they were 2months old and they are this big, they are totally home brought up, the person who owns them has a license as well. The fact it was chained was just to be on the safe side but where they live is in an entirely free environment."
I respect that animals need free space and wildlife for survival however I would like to state facts for the record....
Posted by Shahid Afridi Official on Tuesday, June 12, 2018