KARACHI, Jan 11: The Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) on Friday set up a four-member committee to probe the recent deaths of six deer at the zoo.

The initiative has been taken following the deaths of four white fallow deer, a brown fallow deer and a hog deer — all females — over the past four days at the zoo.

A brown fallow deer is still unwell.

The committee members are: Dr Kazim Hussain, Dr Azam Rao, Dr A. Rehman and Dr Waheed.

All the experts are employees of the KMC.

Except Dr Kazim Hussain, who is working as a vet at the Safari Park, all the experts are currently posted at the KMC veterinary department.

The committee, according to a notification, will explore the cause of sudden deaths of animals at the zoo, look into the procedure of samples already taken from dead animals and can order for fresh samples if they are not satisfied, inspect cages where dead animals were kept, fix responsibility for the animals’ death, suggest preventing measures to avoid disease and deaths in future and consult experts on the KMC experts panel to reach at a ‘fair, transparent and just conclusion’.

The committee members will also be involved in the upkeep of animals at the zoo and will check their cages and health status on a regular basis and suggest measures for improvement.

The body will submit its findings to the chief officer of the KMC within three days.