Reprieve likely for Hauz Khas deer park in Delhi

The licence cancellation notice was issued to the park on July 22 after it was found to be

The Central Zoo Authority (CZA), which had issued a licence cancellation notice to the A.N. Jha Deer Park in Hauz Khas, has decided to review its order and allow the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) to operate the park.

The decision comes following a review appeal filed by the DDA and also because the CZA could not decide what it would do with over 200 spotted deer, which inhabit the area, once the park was closed.

The deer park that is maintained by the DDA is a mini-zoo and is popular with morning walkers. The licence cancellation notice was issued to the park on July 22 after it was found to be flouting norms related to the upkeep of spotted deer. Large-scale inbreeding was also witnessed at the park. Mini-zoos, according to guidelines, are not permitted to keep more than 200 animals.

"The DDA asked us to reconsider the licence cancellation. After officials promised to bring about certain changes and improvements, we decided to let them operate the park," CZA member-secretary B.S. Bonal said.

The CZA also saw considerable amount of improvement in the park after the notice was served which prompted them to accept the DDA's review plea. However, the CZA also admitted that relocating the deer was a huge constraint.

The notice that was served to the DDA claimed that the authorities did not maintain records on the number of deer in the park. The notice also directed the park authorities to check the generic health of the animals. The lack of separate enclosures for male and female deer was also pointed out in the notices. The intrusion of stray dogs into the parks also found mention in the notice.

"Since the animals were not properly managed, there has been huge inbreeding, which leads to genetic defects. The deer population is also too high when compared to the foliage," Bonal added.

Earlier, the environment ministry had decided to cancel licences of 10 zoos across the country after the CZA found mismanagements in their maintenance. Bonal said the DDA has promised to adopt proper population control measures and setting up of proper barriers between the deer and visitors while adding that these executing these steps would pose a great challenge to the DDA authorities.