AN Jha Park located in South Delhi’s Hauz Khas, known as Deer Park, is a very special park for the people of Delhi. People used to come to this park to see the deer, as well as this park has also become a favorite picnic spot for the people of Delhi. 62 years ago in the 1960s, 6 deer were brought to this park, whose number increased with time. In view of the increasing number of deer, it was given the status of Mini Zoo by the Central Zoological Authority (CJDA). Today the number of deer in this park has increased to 650. All of them belong to the same lineage. But now the people of Delhi will not get to see deer in Deer Park.
Due to the increasing number of deer, non-availability of veterinary doctor and lack of trend staff, the care of deer in the park was not being done properly. Many deer have become ill, and many are suffering from organic diseases. In view of this, the recognition of Deer Park’s mini zoo was abolished and it has been decided to transfer the deer and other wild animals kept in the park to another zoo. In this regard, the Central Zoo Authority under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate had issued this order on 08 June. However, the deadline for relocating the deer has not been decided yet.
Explain that it is mandatory to follow the guidelines of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) for the maintenance and feeding of deer and other wildlife in all the zoos and safaris of the country. But those guidelines were not being followed in Deer Park.
Member Secretary of CZA, Dr. Sanjay Kumar Shukla told that Deer Park has not been able to fulfill the purpose for which it was recognized as Mini Zoo. Apart from this, the revision report has also not been given. All the deer present in the park are of the same lineage due to inbreeding. To prevent inbreeding, the DDA, which is looking after the management of the park, did not even bring deer of other breeds.
Genetic diseases in deer increased rapidly due to inbreeding. Another CZA official told that PhD scholars Mamta Mishra and Narayan Yadav of Veterinary Research Institute (UP) have told in their report that the body of wild animals born from inbreeding is weak. Weight is reduced as well as the ability to fight disease is negligible. For all these reasons, it has been decided to abolish the recognition of Deer Park and relocate the deer and other wildlife.
According to the officials, after relocating the deer, the deer park will be kept as a protected forest. After the recognition of Deer Park is over, the deer and wild animals here will be released in the ratio of 70 and 30 percent to the natural habitats of Delhi-NCR and Rajasthan.
