(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.
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Source Note: The provisions of this §65.95 adopted to be effective August 15, 2016, 41 TexReg 5726; amended to be effective October 7, 2018, 43 TexReg 6663; amended to be effective December 19, 2021, 46 TexReg 8724; amended to be effective January 18, 2024, 49 TexReg 267 |