NARA--Authorities here are reeling from allegations an animal protection group is so negligent in caring for the city’s famous wild deer beloved by visitors to Nara Park that some had died of starvation.

A whistle-blower claimed that dozens of deer caught as part of efforts to prevent damage to crops and kept in special fenced areas with little prospect of ever being released were so emaciated they are close to death, prompting an official investigation at city and prefectural level.

Tourists from around the world flock to this city in western Japan that is renowned for its historic temples and shrines, as well as 1,200 or so deer that wander around freely and mingle with visitors.

The animals have protected status.

An outdoor protection center called Rokuen near the Kasuga Taisha shrine in Nara Park is home to 30 injured deer.

In addition, around 240 deer that were rescued after becoming snared in traps in agricultural fields or harmed visitors are kept in a pair of specialized 2,500-square-meter enclosures, one for males and the other for females.

The Nara Deer Preservation Foundation is responsible for their management. Aside from the animals inside the special fenced zones, the group also cares for deer with health problems linked to traffic accidents and other causes.

Annual food costs for the animals come to 7.5 million yen ($49,800), which is borne in part by subsidies from the prefecture, the city and the shrine. Revenue from the sale of crackers sold for sightseers to feed the deer is another source of funding.

Rie Maruko, a veterinarian working for the Nara Deer Preservation Foundation, became so alarmed at the state of the animals under its protection that she submitted a report to Nara Prefecture and Nara city clamoring for something to be done.

Some of the animals inside the dedicated fences were so emaciated that their bones were visible through their sparse fur.

The authorities were first alerted to the plight of the animals between August and September.

Maruko reported that some deer “had grown extremely thin or starved to death.”

She put in an urgent request for the foundation to improve the animals’ food in terms of quality and quantity, but said she was ignored.

Her assertions galvanized city and prefectural authorities to investigate the matter.

In her report, Maruko noted that more than 50 bucks die every year, which she attributed to the energy required of males to grow impressive antlers, leaving them already weak. A poor diet was the death knell, she argued.

Maruko said their food is “not enough, so weak deer are losing the will to live and dying.”

Taking issue with this claim, Nobuyuki Yamazaki, secretary-general of the Nara Deer Preservation Foundation, stated that “food is distributed twice daily and the amount provided is sufficient.”

Yamazaki asserted that at Maruko’s urging, the foundation was devoting more funds to feed the deer this year.

“Deer are occasionally worn out at the time of their capture or fail to adapt to a new unfamiliar environment,” said Yamazaki. “This is why they die.”

Shu Ishikawa, who heads the foundation’s business planning division, poured cold water on the notion deer were dying due to lack of proper food.

“It is difficult for us to offer personalized care to every single animal,” he said.

The specialized fences reflect the complex circumstances surrounding deer in Nara.

According to legend, a deity enshrined at centuries-old Kasuga Taisha shrine is believed to have arrived there on a sacred deer. For that reason, the species has been preserved for more than 1,000 years.

Animal numbers dwindled dramatically following the end of World War II. Deer in the former area of Nara city before its merger with municipalities nearby were included on the list of state-designated natural treasures in 1957.

During the 1970s, damage to farmland by the deer in Nara emerged as a serious concern.

Farmers sued the Agency for Cultural Affairs and the Nara Deer Preservation Foundation for compensation. They reached a settlement in 1985.

Deer are currently protected in and around Nara Park. However, people can trap deer in a “buffer district” outside the park area but must not kill them, unlike in the outlying “control zone.”

The Nara Deer Preservation Foundation is in charge of catching deer in the buffer area. For a time, it tried to return those deer to nature. But the released animals often got caught in traps again, making it unrealistic to free them again.

Limited manpower and financial issues are adding to the organization’s woes.

“Clearly, more discussion is needed on the treatment of deer from the buffer zone,” said a senior official of Nara Prefecture. “Complicating the issue is the fact that deer in Nara collectively have natural treasure status.”