Kuwait woman seen fighting to control 'escaped pet lion'

A woman in Kuwait has been seen carrying a "pet lion" in public after it was reportedly caught roaming a town in the Gulf state on Saturday, according to reports.

The large lion cub is seen in the video struggling to break free as the woman - said to be its owner - carries it through the streets of Sabahiya, about 32km south of the capital Kuwait City.

It had escaped into a residential area sparking panic before it was captured, local outlets Al-Watan and Al-Anba reported.

Environmental police investigated the case and found the owner of the lion, a security source told Al-Anba.

The lion was then brought to a zoo by authorities, The New Arab's sister paper Al-Araby Al-Jadeed reported.

متداول / فتاة كويتية تقبض على "شبل أسد" هارب في منطقة الصباحية، وتمكنت من السيطرة عليه بعدما أثار هلع ورعب السكان والمارة في المنطقة، حيث تبين أن "الشبل" يعود للفتاة#تلفزيون_سوريا @syriastream pic.twitter.com/Omb2IZET0r

— تلفزيون سوريا (@syr_television) January 3, 2022

Some social media users appeared shocked by the scene, with one Twitter user reposting the video stating: "Kuwait is wild".

مو قادر افهم هالناس تنقل اسد من غابات افريقيا و بيئته و بيته الي شوارع الكويت و يسحب و يهان بهذا الشكل …..انتوا شنو من بشر يا اشباه البشر …..وحوش و قاذورات تمشي علي الارض https://t.co/ezoISqIhQK

— Adel Enigma (@AdelEnigma) January 1, 2022

Big cats have been kept as pets by some residents in the Gulf, but the trend has been criticised by animal rights campaigners and governments have started to clamp down.

Some people on social media criticised the latest big cat escapade, with one writing that lions should be in the wild - not in Kuwait.

Others seemed entertained by the incident, with one user joking: "My neighbour and her dog seemed to not be getting along last night."

In August 2018, another lion escaped from a Kuwaiti home and roamed the streets before it was detained and handed over to a zoo, Al-Araby Al-Jadeed reported.