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s the city administration began relocating deer from the National Monument (Monas) Park in Central Jakarta to the Ragunan Zoo on Monday, officials blamed the deer problem on a recent budget cut.

Jakarta Governor Fauzi Bowo said over the weekend that recent budget cuts could be responsible for the animals suffering from lack of food and water in the park over the past three months.

“I have discussed the problem with the Central Jakarta mayor and relevant city agencies and we have decided to increase the budget to support the animals’ welfare,” Fauzi said.

Fauzi gave no details of how much the city spends on the deer.

News outlets have reported that the deer have not received enough food. Upon hearing of the plight of the deer, some Jakarta residents started a drive on Twitter to send them the water and food they need.

The 61 deer in the park reportedly were getting only 100 kilograms of grass a day on weekdays. No food supply was given over the weekend.

In this year’s budget, the administration allocated a total of Rp 140 million (US$15,680) for treatment of the deer and maintenance of the deer grazing ground.

Starting Tuesday, the Jakarta administration will relocate deer from Monas Park.

Ragunan Zoo head Enny Pudjiwati said on Monday that 11 deer would be relocated from the park to the zoo.

She said that the animals would be sedated during the process.

“We have planned the relocation, and this is all part of program to reduce the deer population in the park,” she said.

The Jakarta Animal Husbandry Agency said Monas Park could only house 50 deer. Currently, there are 61 deer living in the park.

Zoo officials will relocate up to five deer a day starting on Tuesday. “Deer are sensitive animals. They are easily stressed out,” Enny said.

Ragunan Zoo now has 229 deer.

Enny said she was unaware of the suspicions that the deer at Monas Park were underfed over the past three months.

Two deer were earlier sent to the Ragunan veterinary center after suffering dehydration blamed on the lack of water supply at the park over the past three months. Water pumps that supply water to ponds had malfunctioned.

Separately, chairman of the Greater Indonesia Movement (Gerindra) Party faction on the City Council Muhammad Sanusi called the plight of the deer an embarrassment to the city administration.

“The deer are inside Monas Park, which is only a few meters away meters away from the governor’s office and the State Palace. They are so close to the heart of the administration but they are still so neglected,” Sanusi said.

The councillor said that the deer mistreatment was a sign of bad management of city assets.

“Keeping a herd of deer should be a simple task for the city administration, yet they failed,” Sanusi said.

Former governor Sutiyoso came with the initiative of relocating 80 deer (Axis axis) from the Presidential Palace in Bogor, West Java, in 2003.

The deer relocation policy also raised the eyebrows of vets who questioned whether a crowded space such as Monas was a suitable place for such sensitive animals.

Sutiyoso, who had earlier put an Rp 8.7 billion fence around the park, however, ignored the warnings.

— JP/Andreas D. Arditya