India's Supreme Court will hear on Tuesday a case over translocation of deer from Delhi's Hauz Khas Deer Park. A panel flagged overcrowding and poor facilities, recommending surplus deer be moved to Rajasthan reserves. The park must regain mini-zoo status from Central Zoo Authority to retain even 38 deer.
Delhi's Hauz Khas AN Jha Deer Park, run by the Delhi Development Authority, houses 370 to 547 spotted deer, per Wildlife Institute of India's January 23 assessment. This exceeds the 10.26-acre enclosure's ideal capacity of 38 deer by nearly tenfold. WII warned of risks to animal welfare, habitat degradation, disease spread, and population viability. Central Zoo Authority deemed space suitable for 50-55 deer but both urged translocating surplus to Rajasthan's Ramgarh Vishdhari and Mukundra Hills Tiger Reserves. Central Empowered Committee, in its March 6 report, flagged missing basic facilities and said only 38 deer can stay upon CZA approval as a mini-zoo. The park lost mini-zoo status in 2023 for non-compliance. CZA approved shifting about 600 deer in June 2023; 261 were moved by March 2025—100 to Ramgarh, 161 to Mukundra—before Supreme Court halted it in November 2025. New Delhi Nature Society petitioned last year for a stay, represented by Rukhsana Choudhury and Amita Singh. A December 2025 CZA visit noted unhygienic conditions, absent infrastructure and equipment for diagnosis or surgeries, and inadequate staff of one veterinarian and one keeper. DDA claimed sufficient water with troughs and a summer stream, but CZA found one point under repair. DDA operates without a valid license due to court stay and CZA derecognition. The Supreme Court will hear the case Tuesday.