Bogor Palace to reduce deer population

BOGOR: The exploding deer population at the Bogor Palace would be reduced to 500 from the current 700, Atikah Sumantri, head of the palace, said on Wednesday.

The over-supply of deer has been a problem for the last three years and at one point their number reached 800. At that time the palace decided to distribute the deer to ministries, government offices and other organizations that had open space of around 1,000 square meters available.

"They don't only have to provide the space but also report on the animals' progress since being handed over," she said.

Offices that have taken the deer include the National Intelligence Agency (BIN), and gubernatorial offices in Medan, Bengkulu and Lampung. Each of them received 10 deer.

The Tampak Siring Palace in Bali accepted 20 and has managed to breed them so that the population now stands at 70 animals.

Atikah said the palace workers would set a trap connected to a wooden cage in order to catch the deer. JP