The Assam state zoo in Guwahati has been hit by a spate of deaths as 20 animals over the last 5 days have lost their lives.

The dead animals include jackals, monkeys, stags and a vulture. There are allegations of negligence against the Assam state zoo authorities that has led to the death of the animals.

On Monday morning, two stags, a jackal and a vulture were found dead by the zoo keepers. On August 16, three jackals were found dead followed by two monkeys on August 17 and three stags on August 18.

It has been alleged that the animals of the zoo are kept in very unhygienic conditions by the keepers that has been an unsolved issue since a long time. It has led to the deaths of many zoo animals before too.

It is to be noted that Tejas Mariswamy, Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) of the Assam State Zoo said that 5 jackals have died till now due to  a viral disease called Canine Distemper, whereas the zoo veterinary doctor said the number of dead jackals were 8.

According to sources, the vaccination for the viral disease that affects a wide variety of animals including dogs, coyotes, foxes, pandas, wolves, ferrets, skunks, raccoons and large cats, is present with the zoo authorities. However, the zoo authorities on the other hand said that that the vaccination will be available only by Monday evening.