Supreme Court ‘worried’ over tranquillisation of deer before relocation from Delhi to Rajasthan

The Supreme Court questioned if deer from Delhi’s Hauz Khas park were tranquilised before their relocation to Rajasthan. Concerned about possible fatalities, the court sought survival data and criticised the lack of safeguards in moving the wild animal

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday said it was worried whether deer from Deer Park in Delhi’s Hauz Khas were tranquillised before being transported to Rajasthan.

A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta was informed so far 261 deer had been relocated to the neighbouring State. “What we are worried is whether the deer were tranquillised before transportation?” the bench said.

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The top court referred to a previous instance with the forest officials opining deers don’t take to tranquillisation very suitably. “There is a tremendous lot of fatality in tranquillising deers,” the bench said.

The top court, which has been hearing a plea over the relocation of deer from the Deer Park, went on to reserve its order in the matter. The bench, in the meantime, asked Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, representing the Central Zoo Authority, to find out the effects of tranquillisation in deer and the percentage of related fatality.

Bhati said the top court on May 16 directed a team of officials of the Central Zoo Authority to immediately visit the places where the 261 deer were transferred. She said that, though the inspection report was filed before the court, it does not deal with the issue of tranquillisation.

“You can’t just board them onto vehicles and transport them. They are wild animals. They have to be first subdued before being transported and that creates a lot of trouble,” the bench observed.

When Bhati said 261 deer were already shifted, the bench said, “Tell us how many survived? Give us the statistics.” The petitioner’s counsel underlined serious gaps and negligence in the process adopted by the authorities.

The plea claimed around 600 deer in Hauz Khas were likely to be relocated without proper habitat assessments, veterinary checks, or safeguards for vulnerable groups like pregnant deer and fawns. It contended three batches of deer had already been relocated hastily from Deer Park to sanctuaries in Rajasthan in contravention of wildlife protection laws.