Pakistani haute couture designer Nilofer Shahid got criticized on social media after pictures of a photoshoot featuring a lion as a prop were widely shared on Twitter on Friday.

The lion appears sedated in the photo.

Twitter user and managing partner of the Crown Law Chambers, Abuzar Salman Khan Niazi posted pictures of the shoot on his profile bringing attention to the case.

“Insensitivity & callousness,” he wrote. The opinion writer also said that such treatment of animals is “uncalled for, illegal and violates basic rights of animals” which is guaranteed to them under our legal system.

Retweeting Niazi’s post, Barrister Muhammad Ahmad Pansota who is the current chairman of COC, PEMRA, Lahore said, “PERMRA (@reprotpemra) has passed a judgement whereby using animals as props is not allowed.”

Pansota’s tweet was re-tweeted by PTI leader Dr. Shahbaz Gill.

Twitter users are asking the government to take stern legal action against the designer.

This is not the first time an animal has been used as a prop for entertainment. Earlier this year, Pakistani actor Ahsan Khan’s talk show ‘Time Out with Ahsan Khan,’ was fined Rs 500,000 by PEMRA for using rabbits as prop for a game in his show.

Referencing to Khan’s case Niazi said that the order PEMRA issued in Ahsan Khan’s case perfectly summarizes the importance of rights of animals in our legal system.

In March 2021, a couple was severely criticized on social media for using a sedated lion cub as a prop during their wedding photoshoot.

An Instagram influencer also came into highlight when she used a lion for entertainment at her birthday party in June.

In late 2020, a lion, used in a PML-N rally in Lahore, was manhandled by party supporters. The Punjab Wildlife Department rescued the lion and shifted it to the zoo.