The Department of Zoology came into being after the bifurcation of the Department of Zoology and Entomology in 1972. The Fisheries section of the Department was established as an independent Department of Fisheries in 1994, but was merged again in 2002 and the Department was renamed as the Department of Zoology and Fisheries. The Department then existed at three centres – on the ground floor of the Biological wing, Small Animal Colony and Fisheries Research Complex with modern facilities to work in the areas of Fisheries, Vertebrate Pest Management, Reproductive Biology, Parasitology and Immunodiagnostics. With the creation of the Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University in 2006, the Fisheries section and Small Animal Colony were shifted to that University and the Department was renamed as the Department of Zoology. At present, the Department on the ground floor of the Biological Wing and the second floor of the main building of the College of Basic Sciences & Humanities. The Resident Instruction Programme in Zoology comprises undergraduate instruction for the students of the College of Agriculture and College of Home Science and post-graduation instruction leading to M.Sc. and Ph. D. degrees in Zoology. A 5 year Integrated M. Sc. (Hons) Programme is also being offered by the department.

The postgraduate students are trained in Agricultural Ornithology, Animal Physiology, Functional Faunal Biodiversity, Parasitology and Rodent Control. At present, the emphasis is on (i) effective, efficient and eco-friendly methods of vertebrate pest management, (ii) functional (nutritional and bio indicative) aspects of faunal biodiversity in inland fresh water ecology (iii) Vermicomposting of crop waste and (iv) Animal Physiology (fertility regulation and use of biomarkers). The faculty of the Department is actively involved in several research projects sponsored by different funding agencies like ICAR, UGC, DST-PSCST and the Punjab State Govt., besides providing outreach services. The Zoological Society is actively involved in promoting academic and co-curricular activities for students. The department is the recipient of Rs. 39.0 Lacs grant for support in Level-I category by the DST-FIST for 5 years duration (2015-20).