Texas Register

TITLE 31 NATURAL RESOURCES AND CONSERVATION
PART 2TEXAS PARKS AND WILDLIFE DEPARTMENT
CHAPTER 65WILDLIFE
SUBCHAPTER BDISEASE DETECTION AND RESPONSE
DIVISION 2CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE - MOVEMENT OF DEER
RULE §65.93Release Sites - Qualifications and Testing Requirements
ISSUE 01/29/2016
ACTION Final/Adopted
Preamble Texas Admin Code Rule

(a)General.

  (1)An approved release site consists solely of the specific tract of land and acreage designated as a release site in TWIMS.

  (2)All release sites must be surrounded by a fence of at least seven feet in height that is capable of retaining deer at all times. The owner of the release site is responsible for ensuring that the fence and associated infrastructure retain the deer under ordinary and reasonable circumstances.

  (3)The owner of a Class II or Class III release site shall maintain a legible daily harvest log at the release site.

    (A)The daily harvest log shall be on a form provided or approved by the department and shall be maintained until the report required by subparagraph (E) of this paragraph has been submitted to and acknowledged by the department.

    (B)For each deer harvested on the release site and tagged under the provisions of Subchapter A of this chapter (relating to Statewide Hunting Proclamation), the landowner must, on the same day that the deer is harvested, legibly enter the information required by this subparagraph in the daily harvest log.

    (C)The daily harvest log shall contain the following information for each deer harvested on the release site:

      (i)the name and hunting license of the person who harvested the deer;

      (ii)the date the deer was harvested;

      (iii)the species (white-tailed or mule deer) and type of deer harvested (buck or antlerless);

      (iv)any alphanumeric identifier tattooed on the deer;

      (v)any RFID or NUES tag number of any RFID or NUES tag affixed to the deer; and

      (vi)any other identifier and identifying number on the deer.

    (D)The daily harvest log shall be made available upon request to any department employee acting in the performance of official duties.

    (E)By not later than March 15 of each year, the owner of a release site shall submit the contents of the daily harvest log to the department via TWIMS or other format authorized by the department.

  (4)Release site status cannot be altered by the sale or subdivision of a property to a related party if the purpose of the sale or subdivision is to avoid the requirements of this division.

  (5)The owner of a release site agrees, by consenting to the release of breeder deer on the release site, to submit all required CWD test results to the department as soon as possible but not later than May 1 of each year. Failure to comply with this paragraph will result in the release site being declared ineligible to be a destination for future releases.

  (6)No person may intentionally cause or allow any live deer to leave or escape from a release site.

(b)Types of Release Sites.

  (1)Class I.

    (A)A release site is a Class I release site if it:

      (i)is not a Tier 1 facility; and

      (ii)receives breeder deer only from TC 1 facilities.

    (B)There are no testing requirements for a Class I release site.

  (2)Class II.

    (A)A release site is a Class II release site if it:

      (i)is not a Tier 1 facility;

      (ii)receives any breeder deer from TC 2 facility; and

      (iii)receives no deer from a TC 3 facility.

    (B)The landowner of a Class II release site must obtain valid CWD test results for one of the following values, whichever represents the lowest number of deer tested:

      (i)if deer are hunter-harvested, a number of deer equivalent to 50 percent of the number of breeder deer released at the site between August 24, 2015 and the last day of lawful deer hunting at the site in the current year; or

      (ii)50 percent of all hunter-harvested deer.

    (C)If any hunter-harvested deer were breeder deer released between August 24, 2015 and the last day of lawful deer hunting at the site in the current, 50 percent of those hunter-harvested deer must be submitted for CWD testing, which may be counted to satisfy the requirements of subparagraph (B) of this paragraph.

  (3)Class III.

    (A)A release site is a Class III release site if:

      (i)it is a Tier 1 facility; or

      (ii)it receives deer from an originating facility that is a TC 3 facility.

    (B)The landowner of a Class III release site must obtain valid CWD test results for one of the following values, whichever represents the greatest number of deer tested:

      (i)100 percent of all hunter-harvested deer; or

      (ii)one hunter-harvested deer per breeder deer released between August 24, 2015 and the last day of lawful deer hunting at the site in the current year.

The agency certifies that legal counsel has reviewed the adoption and found it to be a valid exercise of the agency's legal authority.

Filed with the Office of the Secretary of State on January 13, 2016

TRD-201600145

Ann Bright

General Counsel

Texas Parks and Wildlife Department

Effective date: February 2, 2016

Proposal publication date: October 2, 2015

For further information, please call: (512) 389-4775



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