Officials familiar with the matter have revealed that the Central Zoo Authority (CZA) has revoked the recognition of South Delhi’s Deer Park as a ‘mini-zoo’ in the national capital of India. The deer in the park will be relocated, but the park will remain open to the public.
The authorities have decided to classify Deer Park, officially known as “AN Jha Deer Park” and located in Hauz Khas, New Delhi, as a protected forest. It will now fall under the jurisdiction of the Delhi Development Authority (DDA), which is a land-owning agency.
According to a DDA official, the decision to derecognize the park was made at a recent CZA meeting due to overcrowding of deer in the enclosure.
On June 8, the Central Zoo Authority informed the DDA about the change in the park’s status and stated that the deer would be transferred to the Rajasthan and Delhi forest departments in a ratio of 70:30.
The letter from the CZA referred to a meeting held on January 30, where it was estimated that the spotted deer population may have increased to around 600. The Rajasthan forest department and the forest department of NCT (National Capital Territory) of Delhi have agreed to receive the deer in the specified ratio.
The meeting was attended by officials including CZA member secretary Sanjay Shukla, DDA principal commissioner Rajeev Kumar Tiwari, CZA’s evaluation and monitoring officer Devender Kumar, and Delhi chief wildlife warden Suneesh Buxy. The proposal was approved by the technical committee of the CZA in a meeting held on April 19, 2023.
The DDA official mentioned that the park was established in the 1960s with only six deer, but their population multiplied over the decades. In the last ten years, the deer population is estimated to have increased from 200 to 600.
The decision to revoke recognition was based on various issues, including rapid population growth, inbreeding, the potential spread of disease, and the lack of trained personnel to maintain the mini-zoo. The Rajasthan and Delhi forest departments will now take further action for the translocation of the deer. The Deer Park will be maintained as a protected forest area after the deer have been relocated.
An official from the Delhi forest department stated that they are assessing the Asola Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary to determine how many deer can be accommodated there. Plans are being made to identify suitable areas within the sanctuary.
The park, which spans an area of 25.95 hectares, is also home to small animals such as ducks and rabbits. There have been plans to relocate the deer from the park for several years. In March of this year, the CZA attempted to move them to the Asola Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary, but the plan was put on hold as the Delhi forest department highlighted the need to repair the broken boundary first.
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