In response to the death of five Golden Jackals in Mumbai, suspected to be infected with rabies, a six-member committee was established by the Maharashtra Forest Department to take measures to control the spread of rabies among wild animals.

On October 28, mid-day broke the news of the growing number of rabies cases among the jackals. We carried a story ‘Forest dept to investigate the rise in jackal deaths in Chembur’, which highlighted how in a concerning series of events, five jackals had died in the Trombay-Chembur belt over the past month alone, prompting investigations by the forest department. While the reason behind their deaths is difficult to ascertain, sources from the forest department told mid-day that the rescued jackals were sick and showed signs indicative of a potential rabies infection.