As many as 513 animals mostly birds went missing from Islamabad’s Marghazar Zoo, reported 24NewsHD TV channel on Sunday.

The TV channel quoting its sources said that 500 birds have gone missing from the zoo while the Climate Change Ministry has ordered an investigation into it.

Member of Wildlife Management Board of Islamabad Zoo Scientific Committee Zahid Mirza told 24NewsHd TV channel that lion and lioness were shifted in an unprofessional manner. He said lawyers of the Climate Change Ministry did not state true facts in front of the court.

“Animals were shifted to private breeding farms against the court orders,” he further said.

There were 915 animals and birds in Marghazar Zoo in 2019 but the authorities shifted only 404 wild animals to Lahore while rare species of deer, gazelle, hartebeest, Nilgai (blue bull) and other precious animals were missing in the zoo.

In a case pertaining to the Islamabad Zoo, IHC had issued show-cause notice to Climate Change Minister Zartaj Gul.