To keep animals safe from rubbish discarded by tourists, a bag has been devised made from milk cartons and rice bran

The famed deer that roam the city of Nara, in Japan, no longer face discomfort – or far worse – after local companies developed a safe alternative to the plastic packaging discarded by tourists that often ended up in the animals’ stomachs.

Last year several of the 1,300 deer that wander around the ancient capital’s central park were found dead after swallowing plastic bags and food wrappers, prompting calls for tourists not to leave their rubbish behind. One of the dead animals had swallowed more than 4kg of rubbish.

Related: Scat feels better: digestive health of Japan deer improves as tourist snacks dwindle

Nara introduces cute paper bags edible for deer in case the deer mistakenly eat them. https://t.co/Pj5S3H031W #Nara #Japan pic.twitter.com/h8kp78SqRE