31 Tex. Admin. Code § 65.95 - Movement of Breeder Deer
(a) General.
Except as otherwise provided in this division, a breeding facility may transfer
breeder deer under a transfer permit that has been activated and approved by
the department to:
(1) another breeding
facility as provided in subsection (b) of this section;
(2) an approved release site as provided in
subsection (c) of this section; or
(3) a DMP facility (however, deer transferred
to DMP facilities cannot be recaptured and must be released as provided in the
deer management plan)
(b)
Transfer From Breeding Facility to Breeding Facility.
(1) A breeder deer may be transferred from
one breeding facility to another breeding facility only if:
(A) an ante-mortem test on rectal or tonsil
tissue collected from the deer within the eight months immediately preceding
the transfer has been returned with test results of "not detected";
and
(B) the deer is at least six
months of age at the time the test sample required by this subsection is
collected.
(2) An
ante-mortem test result of "not detected" submitted to satisfy the requirements
of §
65.92(d) of this
title (relating to CWD Testing) may be utilized a second time to satisfy the
requirements of this subsection, provided the test sample was collected as
provided in paragraph (1) of this subsection.
(3) A facility from which deer are
transferred in violation of this subsection is automatically NMQ and any
further transfers are prohibited until the permittee and the owner of the
destination facility have complied with the testing requirements of the
department, based on an epidemiological assessment as specified in
writing.
(c) Release
Sites; Release of Breeder Deer.
(1) An
approved release site consists solely of the specific tract of land to which
deer are released and the acreage is designated as a release site in TWIMS. A
release site owner may modify the acreage registered as the release site to
recognize changes in acreage (such as the removal of cross-fencing or the
purchase of adjoining land), so long as the release site owner notifies the
department of such modifications prior to the acreage modification. The release
site requirements set forth in this division apply to the entire acreage
modified under the provisions of this paragraph.
(2) Liberated breeder deer must have
complete, unrestricted access to the entirety of the release site; provided,
however, deer may be excluded from areas for safety reasons (such as airstrips)
or for the purpose of protecting areas such as crops, orchards, ornamental
plants, and lawns from depredation.
(3) All release sites onto which breeder deer
are liberated must be surrounded by a fence of at least seven feet in height
that is capable of retaining deer at all times under reasonable and ordinary
circumstances. The owner of the release site is responsible for ensuring that
the fence and associated infrastructure retain deer under reasonable and
ordinary circumstances.
(4) The
department will not authorize the liberation of breeder deer at a release site
registered in TWIMS following the effective date of this subsection unless the
owner of the release site submits to the department a letter of endorsement by
a person authorized by the department to conduct fence inspections under the
provisions of §
65.603 of this title (relating to
Application and Permit Issuance) stating that the person has personally
conducted an on-site inspection at the facility identified in the application
and affirming that the release site is surrounded by a perimeter fence meeting
the requirements of paragraph (3) of this subsection. This paragraph does not
apply to release sites that have received deer prior to the effective date of
this paragraph. It is an offense for any person the department has authorized
as a facility inspector to submit the letter of endorsement required by this
paragraph if the person has not personally conducted an onsite inspection at
the facility.
(5) No person may
intentionally cause or allow any live deer to leave or escape from a release
site onto which breeder deer have been liberated.
(6) The owner of a release site where deer
from a facility subject to the provisions of §
65.99 of this title (relating to
Breeding Facilities Epidemiologically Connected to Deer Infected with CWD;
Positive Deer Breeding Facilities) or deer from a CWD-positive facility have
been released shall maintain a harvest log at the release site that complies
with §
65.93 of this title (relating to
Harvest Log).
(7) No person may
transfer a breeder deer to a release facility or cause or allow a breeder deer
to be transferred to a release facility unless:
(A) an ante-mortem test on rectal or tonsil
tissue collected from the deer within the eight months immediately preceding
the release has been returned with test results of "not detected";
and
(B) the deer is at least six
months of age at the time the test sample required by this paragraph is
collected; and
(C) the deer bears
the identification prescribed by Parks and Wildlife Code, §
43.3561, and
any applicable herd plan.
(D) A
breeder deer that has been released is no longer a breeder deer; however, it is
an offense for any person to remove the identification tag required by this
section from such deer except as a consequence of reducing the deer to
possession following lawful take under a hunting license.
(E) An ante-mortem test result of "not
detected" submitted to satisfy the requirements of §
65.92(d) of this
title may be utilized a second time to satisfy the requirements of this
paragraph, provided the test sample was collected as provided in subparagraph
(A) of this paragraph.
(F) A
facility from which deer are transferred in violation of this paragraph becomes
automatically NMQ and any further transfers are prohibited until the permittee
and the owner of the release site have complied with the testing requirements
of the department, based on an epidemiological assessment as specified in
writing.
(d)
Trace-out Release Site.
(1) A release site is
a trace-out release site if it has:
(A)
received deer directly or indirectly from a positive breeding facility;
and
(B) it has not been released
from a hold order or quarantine related to activity described in subparagraph
(A) of this paragraph.
(2) The landowner of a trace-out release site
must:
(A) within 60 days of notification by
the department that trace-out release status has been confirmed, remove every
trace deer at the release site, either by lawful hunting or as specifically
authorized in writing by the department (or both), and submit post-mortem CWD
samples for each deer within seven days of mortality; and
(B) submit post-mortem CWD test results for
100 percent of all hunter-harvested deer until the department is confident that
CWD is not present at the release site or as prescribed in a herd
plan.
(3) No breeder deer
may be transferred to a trace-out release site unless the deer has been tagged
in one ear with a button-type RFID tag approved by the
department.
(e) The owner
of a release site that is not in compliance with applicable provisions of this
division is ineligible for enrollment or continued participation in the Managed
Lands Deer Program under Subchapter A of this chapter.
Notes
State regulations are updated quarterly; we currently have two versions available. Below is a comparison between our most recent version and the prior quarterly release. More comparison features will be added as we have more versions to compare.
(a) General. Except as otherwise provided in this division, a breeding facility may transfer breeder deer under a transfer permit that has been activated and approved by the department to:
(1) another breeding facility as provided in subsection (b) of this section;
(2) an approved release site as provided in subsection (c) of this section; or
(3) a DMP facility (however, deer transferred to DMP facilities cannot be recaptured and must be released as provided in the deer management plan)
(b) Transfer From Breeding Facility to Breeding Facility .
(1) A breeder deer may be transferred from one breeding facility to another breeding facility only if:
(A) an ante-mortem test on rectal or tonsil tissue collected from the deer within the eight months immediately preceding the transfer has been returned with test results of "not detected"; and
(B) the deer is at least six months of age at the time the test sample required by this subsection is collected.
(2) An ante-mortem test result of "not detected" submitted to satisfy the requirements of § 65.92(d) of this title (relating to CWD Testing) may be utilized a second time to satisfy the requirements of this subsection, provided the test sample was collected as provided in paragraph (1) of this subsection.
(3) A facility from which deer are transferred in violation of this subsection is automatically NMQ and any further transfers are prohibited until the permittee and the owner of the destination facility have complied with the testing requirements of the department, based on an epidemiological assessment as specified in writing.
(c) Release Sites; Release of Breeder Deer .
(1) An approved release site consists solely of the specific tract of land to which deer are released and the acreage is designated as a release site in TWIMS . A release site owner may modify the acreage registered as the release site to recognize changes in acreage (such as the removal of cross-fencing or the purchase of adjoining land), so long as the release site owner notifies the department of such modifications prior to the acreage modification. The release site requirements set forth in this division apply to the entire acreage modified under the provisions of this paragraph.
(2) Liberated breeder deer must have complete, unrestricted access to the entirety of the release site ; provided, however, deer may be excluded from areas for safety reasons (such as airstrips) or for the purpose of protecting areas such as crops, orchards, ornamental plants, and lawns from depredation.
(3) All release sites onto which breeder deer are liberated must be surrounded by a fence of at least seven feet in height that is capable of retaining deer at all times under reasonable and ordinary circumstances. The owner of the release site is responsible for ensuring that the fence and associated infrastructure retain deer under reasonable and ordinary circumstances.
(4) No person may intentionally cause or allow any live deer to leave or escape from a release site onto which breeder deer have been liberated.
(5) The owner of a release site where deer from a facility subject to the provisions of § 65.99 of this title (relating to Breeding Facilities Epidemiologically Connected to Deer Infected with CWD) or deer from a CWD-positive facility have been released shall maintain a harvest log at the release site that complies with § 65.93 of this title (relating to Harvest Log).
(6) No person may transfer a breeder deer to a release facility or cause or allow a breeder deer to be transferred to a release facility unless:
(A) an ante-mortem test on rectal or tonsil tissue collected from the deer within the eight months immediately preceding the release has been returned with test results of "not detected"; and
(B) the deer is at least six months of age at the time the test sample required by this paragraph is collected.
(C) An ante-mortem test result of "not detected" submitted to satisfy the requirements of § 65.92(d) of this title may be utilized a second time to satisfy the requirements of this paragraph, provided the test sample was collected as provided in subparagraph (A) of this paragraph.
(D) A facility from which deer are transferred in violation of this paragraph becomes automatically NMQ and any further transfers are prohibited until the permittee and the owner of the release site have complied with the testing requirements of the department, based on an epidemiological assessment as specified in writing.
(d) Trace-out Release Site .
(1) A release site is a trace-out release site if it has:
(A) received deer directly or indirectly from a positive breeding facility ; and
(B) it has not been released from a hold order or quarantine related to activity described in subparagraph (A) of this paragraph.
(2) The landowner of a trace-out release site must:
(A) within 60 days of notification by the department that trace-out release status has been confirmed , remove every trace deer at the release site , either by lawful hunting or as specifically authorized in writing by the department (or both), and submit post-mortem CWD samples for each deer within seven days of mortality; and
(B) submit post-mortem CWD test results for 100 percent of all hunter-harvested deer until the department is confident that CWD is not present at the release site or as prescribed in a herd plan .
(3) No breeder deer may be transferred to a trace-out release site unless the deer has been tagged in one ear with a button-type RFID tag approved by the department.
(e) The owner of a release site that is not in compliance with applicable provisions of this division is ineligible for enrollment or continued participation in the Managed Lands Deer Program under Subchapter A of this chapter.