Litter Pickers Attempt to Save Nara Park's Deer From Trash

TaiwanPlus News

Japan's Nara Park has enlisted the help of high-tech bins and a dedicated trash-picking team to save its sacred sika deer from litter.

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00:00The hundreds of sacred sika deer that roam freely through Japan's Nara Park are a major reason the location has become a booming tourist hotspot.

00:08But the increasing number of visitors is causing serious health consequences for the animals.

00:30Tourists are allowed to feed the deer specifically formulated snacks, but some people leave behind cigarette butts and plastic rubbish.

00:50The deer sometimes consume these by mistake.

00:53The issue has become so bad that plastic waste has caused the death of at least nine deer.

01:00The lack of trash bins doesn't help the situation.

01:09The park banned public bins four decades ago to stop the deer scavenging in them for food.

01:14We have to carry our trash with us all the time, so I do it, but it's kind of strange for us.

01:22Despite some tourists being on board, it hasn't fixed the issue.

01:27The park is trialing a new solar-powered bin that automatically compresses trash.

01:31But with the bin project costing a hefty $130,000, local authorities and conservation groups have brought in reinforcements.

01:39A litter-picking squad dubbed Beautiful Deer.

01:43We mainly look after the plastic waste in the park.

01:47But there is a lot of trash that we leave behind.

01:52The team employs people with disabilities who patrol the park daily.

01:56Armed with gloves, tongs and dustpans, this squad is looking for stray litter,

02:00and making Nara Park safe for the sacred deer who roam it.

02:04James Lin and Rosie Greninger for Taiwan Plus.

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