What are the sacred Nara deer? How do plastic bags endanger them?

In the ancient and historic city of Nara, Japan, there live a large herd of deer considered sacred. These deer are legally protected and cannot be harmed. They cluster around a park near a famous temple, which is the largest wooden structure in the world, called the Todaiji. The deer are feed by visitors to Nara who purchase special biscuits from vendors in the park. These biscuits are healthy for the deer, but are often kept in plastic bags that some visitors discard on the ground or in garbage cans after use. Because the plastic bags smell like the biscuits that were kept in them, the deer often eat the bags and then develop health problems, with some of the deer even dying. This has created a problem that Hidetoshi Matsukawa, a local resident who works in the deer biscuit business, wants to help solve. Matsukawa designed a special edible bag for the snacks make of milk cartons and rice. These bags can be safely eaten and digested by the deer. As you might know, many animals around the world are injured by discarded plastic bags. Matsukawa's invention is one possible solution to this problem, but more innovations are needed to prevent plastic bags from harming more wildlife. See the article to learn more:

Japan gets deer-friendly bags to stop animals eating plastic

Japanese man invents 'edible' plastic bag alternative to save Nara's sacred deer