PESHAWAR – More than 30 animals breathed their last in the Peshawar Zoo in a short span of three months since it was inaugurated by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister, Pervez Khattak.
According to an investigative report unveiled on Thursday, certain factors were responsible for the tragic death of animals after the zoo was inaugurated in February 2018.
Headed by Additional Secretary Higher Education Kabir Afridi, the committee found that more than 30 species of bird and a Nilgai died in the zoo primarily due to respiratory ailments.
The zoo does not have a laboratory for even the routine illnesses of animals, while the veterinarian and other staff are not properly trained, the report stated.
Besides the lack of medical facilities, the cages were not properly designed as the committee found that a deer died after suffering a severe head injury from its cage.
Moreover, another monkey succumbed to its injuries after a wolf trespassed into the cage.
The death of a snow leopard was ascertained to be of natural causes as it had suffered a heart attack.
Investigation committee member Mohammad Mumtaz Malik remarked that animals die at zoos across the world, however, recommended that zoo’s medical staff should be properly trained and grass should be grown inside the cages.
Malik also suggested that the visitors should also be educated and told not to stone or tease the animals.
