This Friday, January 26, 2024, a woman was arrested in Thailand while transporting a lion cub in the back of a luxury car.
Images that are controversial. This Friday, January 26, a woman was arrested for illegal possession of a lion cub that she was transporting in a Bentley, Thai police reported to Le Parisien. The images of this car ride were widely shared on social media and sparked numerous reactions.
No authorization
In the video we see the young cat riding in the back seat of a convertible Bentley through the streets of Pattaya, where the crowds are quite high due to tourism. The police launched an investigation.
Although the country's law does not prohibit owning a lion, it actually has to be officially registered, which is not the case for Sawangjit Kosoognern, the animal's owner. The latter is accused of “unauthorized possession of a protected species,” the police reported on their Facebook page. “We arrested them under the Wildlife Protection Act, 2019,” she said.
As a result, the arrested woman faces a fine of up to 100,000 baht, which is equivalent to 2,600 euros, but also a one-year prison sentence, writes Le Parisien.
However, the suspect said he bought the lion cub from a woman in Nakhon Pathom province but was unable to obtain an official document due to a lack of information about the animal's gender. She claims to have kept the cat in a luxury home rented by a businessman (who drives the Bentley in the video) who has since been deported to his home country of Sri Lanka.
According to the French daily, Thai authorities say there are more than 200 lions legally owned by private owners across the country.