<p>Authorities raided a house in a wealthy district of Phnom Penh to rescue an 18-month-old lion that had been defanged, declawed and illegally kept as a pet.</p>.<p>They said they had tracked down the animal in the Cambodian capital's Boeung Keng Kang district after videos of it went viral on TikTok.</p>.<p>The officers found the male lion padding placidly around a hallway with a collar around its neck on Sunday. One blew a tranquiliser dart into its side before the team moved in and carried the slumped 70 kg (154 lbs) animal into a metal crate.</p>.<p>The lion was then taken to the Phnom Tamao Wildlife Rescue Centre in the outskirts of the capital, officials said.</p>.<p>"It was rare species that was smuggled from abroad,” environment ministry spokesperson Neth Pheaktra said.</p>.<p>"According to the law, people don’t have the right to raise wildlife at home, especially rare species."</p>.<p>The Wildlife Alliance NGO said it helped during the raid that was a joint operation led by the Forestry Administration, with the Deputy Prosecutor of the Phnom Penh Municipal Court, the police and the military police.</p>
<p>Authorities raided a house in a wealthy district of Phnom Penh to rescue an 18-month-old lion that had been defanged, declawed and illegally kept as a pet.</p>.<p>They said they had tracked down the animal in the Cambodian capital's Boeung Keng Kang district after videos of it went viral on TikTok.</p>.<p>The officers found the male lion padding placidly around a hallway with a collar around its neck on Sunday. One blew a tranquiliser dart into its side before the team moved in and carried the slumped 70 kg (154 lbs) animal into a metal crate.</p>.<p>The lion was then taken to the Phnom Tamao Wildlife Rescue Centre in the outskirts of the capital, officials said.</p>.<p>"It was rare species that was smuggled from abroad,” environment ministry spokesperson Neth Pheaktra said.</p>.<p>"According to the law, people don’t have the right to raise wildlife at home, especially rare species."</p>.<p>The Wildlife Alliance NGO said it helped during the raid that was a joint operation led by the Forestry Administration, with the Deputy Prosecutor of the Phnom Penh Municipal Court, the police and the military police.</p>