Cambodian authorities have confiscated a pet lion after the defanged and declawed animal was seen in TikTok videos in a Phnom Penh villa.
The 18-month-old male, weighing 70kgs, had been imported from overseas by the owner, a Chinese national, to be raised in his home, a spokesman for the environment ministry told AFP.
"Cambodian authorities started investigating this lion since we saw it on TikTok in late April," the spokesman said.
Wildlife Alliance - an animal rescue NGO that aided in the raid - wrote in a Facebook post that the conditions of a private residence was "inappropriate for a wild animal".
"In addition, the lion's canine teeth had been removed, along with its claws, which drastically reduces a lion's quality of life," it said.
The owner had shared a photo of the lion sitting in a driveway as a dog played nearby.
There was also a video of it as a young cub being sprayed down with a hose.
"People have no right to raise rare wildlife as pets," the spokesman said.
The big cat was shown in photos released yesterday by the environment ministry lounging with a small dog as authorities prepped a crate to move it to the Phnom Tamao Wildlife Rescue Centre in the outskirts of the capital.
The confiscation comes a day after a Twitter user posted an aerial shot of the creature roaming around a garden in the upscale Boeung Keng Kang district of Phnom Penh.
