After multiple rare animals died, the provincial chief secretary on Wednesday constituted a committee to probe allegations of mismanagement at the Peshawar Zoo and harassment of animals by visitors.The three-member committee will comprise Higher Education Department additional secretary Kabri Afridi as the convener and include wildlife DFO Halim Khan, and retired chief conservator Dr Malik Mumataz.They have been tasked with probing the issues at the zoo and for identifying the causes which led to the death of the animals, including that of a snow leopard last week. Moreover, the committee will also fix responsibility, revise the management structure of the zoo and try and come up with best management practices to avoid the death of animals.Around two dozen animals are believed to have died, including a Blue Bull, a Black Buck, three spotted deer, three Chickaree doves, one primate and an endangered snow leopard. They either died inside the zoo or while being transported there.Talking to The Express Tribune, a wildlife official had explained the death of the snow leopard as having already been in captivity for a long time, including with the wildlife department for at least a decade at the Ayubia national park and other areas.“In the winter the animal was transported to lower areas while in the summer, it was transported back to colder parts successfully. As a matter of principle it should not have been shifted to Peshawar where the temperature was not suitable for it but the government forced the administration to provide it with all kinds of animals for the zoo, as a result, it was shifted to Peshawar where it died due to weather or some other problems,” he claimed, adding that in the past it was recommended to release the animal into the wild or start a breeding programme, but all of these suggestions were ignored by the officials.“The blue bull was kept in Tanda Dam area of Kohat and it was not darted with anaesthesia before catching it. As result, it died before it even reached Peshawar. So we have to blame the inexperienced nature of the handlers and those who transported the animals to the zoo,” he said, adding that pregnant Chinkara doves were transported to Peshawar as result at least three of them died.Published in The Express Tribune, March 22, 2018.