October 13, 2017 - A lawsuit filed by two deer breeders seeking to turn the tables on the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department's authority to govern over deer contained by high fence breeding operations as public property was recently spoiled by a Texas district judge.
The lawsuit was filed after the state agency - alarmed by the discovery of chronic wasting disease in numerous white-tailed deer with ties to Texas breeding facilities the last few years - implemented a set of transportation and testing guidelines for Texas deer breeders to follow that some saw as way too restrictive and heavy handed.
CWD is a nasty, neurological disorder that affects deer, elk and other cervids. Progressive-but-slow moving in nature, the disease can be spread by animal-to-animal contact or through contact with a contaminated environment. Researchers say an animal may carry CWD for years without indication, but in the latter stages signs may include listlessness, lowering of the head, weight loss, repetitive walking in set patterns, and a lack of responsiveness. The disease isn't believed to pose a risk to humans or domestic animals.
First recognized 50 years ago in captive mule deer in Colorado, CWD has since been documented in captive and/or free-ranging deer in 23 states as well as Canada. It was first documented in Texas in 2012 in free-ranging mule deer in West Texas.
Since then CWD has been discovered in nearly three dozen white-tailed deer that either occupied or originated from Texas breeding pens. Earlier this year the first case of CWD in free-ranging deer was confirmed in Medina County.
Though opinions vary as to how contagious it is, many scientists agree that CWD is always fatal once contracted and that eradication is next to impossible once the disease becomes well established in a population. It is also believed that, left unchecked, CWD can lead to a decline in deer numbers over time.
TPWD claims its response and regulations related to CWD are justified, and Travis County District Judge Tim Sulak obviously feels the same way.
Sulak sided with the state in the lawsuit and ordered two plaintiff's who challenged the rules to fork over nearly $426,000 to pay the state's attorney's fees, according to a court order signed and dated Sept. 21, 2017.
You would have to believe that the folks within TPWD's wildlife division are pleased with the outcome. Even so, they are remaining tight-lipped about it, more than likely on the advice of their attorneys and possibly because some sort of appeal could be coming down the pike.
When asked to issue a statement about the judge's decision, TPWD Big Game Director Mitch Lockwood declined. "At this time TPWD cannot comment as the litigation is still pending," Lockwood said via e-mail."
Attorney General Ken Paxton was much more vocal in a Sept. 25 press release issued by his office.
“TPWD’s lawful rules regulating the movement of breeder deer reduce the probability of CWD being spread from deer-breeding facilities, where it may exist, and increase the chances of detecting and containing CWD if it does exist,” Paxton said. “The rules also serve to protect Texas’ 700,000 licensed deer hunters, along with the thousands of people in rural communities across the state whose livelihoods depend on deer hunting.”
Austin attorney Jennifer Riggs represented the deer breeders in the case. Riggs was unavailable for comment at press time, but reports in the Austin American Statesman indicate she was not pleased with the court ruling.
"We are very disappointed that the trial court declined to recognize very basic property rights,” Riggs told the newspaper.
In the meantime, TPWD wildlife officials continue to monitor Texas' free ranging deer and breeder operations in hopes of keeping the disease confined to its known zones through mandatory and volunteer testing within those zones and beyond.
The department recently created new regulations for the 2017-18 hunting season including the establishment of CWD Containment and Surveillance Zones in the Trans-Pecos, Panhandle and South-Central Texas regions.
Hunters who harvest mule deer, white-tailed deer, elk, red deer or any CWD susceptible species within those regions are required by law to bring the animals to a TPWD check station for sampling within 48 hours of the harvest. The department also is urging hunters outside those zones to present their deer to state wildlife biologists for testing on a volunteer basis.
Micah Poteet, acting district leader for Pineywoods region, says thousands of hunter harvested and road kill deer have been tested statewide over the last several years. Poteet says the department's goal number for testing in the Pineywoods this coming season is 400 animals.
According to TPWD reports, hunters need to be aware of rules banning importation of certain deer, elk, and other CWD susceptible species carcass parts from states where the disease has been detected, as well as the movement of the same carcass parts from CWD zones.
To learn more about CWD and the state's management plan, see tpwd.texas.gov/huntwild/wild/diseases/cwd/.
