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(a)General. Except as otherwise provided in this division,
a TC 1 or TC 2 breeding facility may transfer breeder deer under a
transfer permit that has been activated and approved by the department
as provided in §65.610(e) of this title (relating to Transfer
of Deer) to:
(1)another breeding facility;
(2)an approved release site as provided in paragraph
(3) of this subsection;
(3)a DMP facility; or
(4)to another person for nursing purposes.
(b)Breeder Facilities.
(1)TC 1.
(A)Except as may be otherwise provided in this division,
a breeding facility is a TC 1 facility if:
(i)it has "fifth-year" or "certified" status in the
TAHC CWD Herd Certification Program;
(ii)has submitted "not detected" post-mortem test
results equivalent to:
(I)at least 80 percent of the total number of eligible
mortalities that occurred in the breeding facility in each reporting
year of the immediately preceding five-year period and each year thereafter;
and
(II)a number of "not detected" post-mortem test results
submitted during the previous five consecutive years equal to or greater
than the following number: the sum of the eligible-aged population
in the breeding facility at the end of each of the previous five consecutive
reporting years, plus the sum of the eligible mortalities that occurred
within the breeding facility for each of the previous five consecutive
reporting years, multiplied by 3.6 percent; tests submitted pursuant
to subclause (I) of this clause may be used to satisfy the testing
requirements of this subclause.
(iii)has submitted the following "not detected" test
results:
(I)ante-mortem tests of at least 80 percent of eligible-aged
deer in the facility's inventory at the time the testing is conducted;
(II)post-mortem tests of at least 80 percent of all
eligible mortalities during each reporting year thereafter; and
(III)beginning April 1, 2021, the number of "not detected"
post-mortem test results submitted within the previous five consecutive
years must be equal to or greater than the following number: the sum
of the eligible-aged population in the breeding facility at the end
of each of five consecutive reporting years, plus the sum of the eligible
mortalities that have occurred within the breeding facility for each
of the five consecutive years, multiplied by 3.6 percent; tests submitted
pursuant to subclause (II) of this clause may be used to satisfy the
testing requirements of this subclause; or
(iv)"not detected" test results are submitted on an
annual basis for:
(I)ante-mortem tests of at least 25 percent of eligible-aged
deer in the facility's inventory at the time the testing is conducted;
and
(II)post-mortem tests of at least 50 percent of eligible
mortalities.
(B)Failure to Comply with TC 1 Testing Requirements.
(i)Upon processing of the annual report, a TC 1 facility
that has not met the post-mortem testing requirements of this section
becomes a TC 2 facility.
(ii)If the deer breeder seeks to regain TC 1 status,
the deer breeder must, within 60 days from the date the breeder is
notified by the department of the change in status, furnish the test
results necessary to be in full compliance with the applicable TC
1 testing requirements in order to be returned to TC1 status.
(iii)If after 60 days the department has not received
test results sufficient to achieve compliance with the applicable
TC 1 testing requirements, the breeding facility is not eligible to
regain TC 1 status for a period of two years.
(iv)A breeder will not be eligible to regain TC 1
status, if breeder deer from a lower status breeding facility are
transferred to the breeding facility during the 60 days in which the
breeder is seeking to regain TC 1 status.
(2) TC 2.
(A)A breeding facility is a TC 2 facility if:
(i)it is not a TC 1 facility; and
(ii)it is not a TC 3 facility.
(B)The testing requirements for a TC 2 facility are
the minimum testing requirements established for MQ designation in §65.94(a)(1)
of this title (relating to Breeding Facility Minimum Movement Qualification).
(3)TC 3.
(A)A TC 3 facility is any breeding facility registered
in TWIMS that is under a TAHC hold order and/or herd plan and meets
any of the following criteria:
(i)received an exposed deer within the previous five
years;
(ii)transferred deer to a CWD-positive facility within
the five-year period preceding the confirmation of CWD in the CWD-positive
facility; or
(iii)possessed a deer that was in a CWD-positive facility
within the previous five years.
(B)No deer from a TC 3 facility may be transferred
or liberated unless expressly authorized in a TAHC herd plan and then
only in accordance with the provisions of this division and the TAHC
herd plan.
(C)A TC 3 breeding facility remains a TC 3 breeding
facility until the TAHC hold order in effect at the breeding facility
has been lifted.
(D)A TC3 breeding facility may not transfer a breeder
deer for any purpose unless the deer has been tagged in one ear with
a NUES tag or button-type RFID tag approved by the department.
(c)Release Sites.
(1)General.
(A)An approved release site consists solely of the
specific tract of land to which deer are released and the acreage
designated as a release site in TWIMS.
(B)Liberated breeder deer must have complete, unrestricted
access to the entirety of the release site.
(C)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. The owner of the release
site is responsible for ensuring that the fence and associated infrastructure
retain deer.
(D)The testing requirements of this subsection continue
in effect until "not detected" test results have been submitted for
five consecutive hunting years following the last date on which breeder
deer were liberated on the release site. A release site that is not
in compliance with the testing requirements of this subsection is
ineligible to receive deer.
(E)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.
(F)The owner of a Class II or Class III release site
shall maintain a harvest log at the release site that complies with §65.93
of this title (relating to Harvest Log).
(2)Class I Release Site. A release site that is in
compliance with the applicable provisions of this division and receives
deer only from TC 1 facilities is a Class I release site and is not
required to perform CWD testing, unless it becomes a Class II or Class
III release site.
(3)Class II Release Site.
(A)A release site that receives deer from a TC 2 breeding
facility is a Class II release site unless it becomes a Class III
release site.
(B)Each year that a Class II release site receives
deer from any TC 2 breeding facility, the owner of the release site
must, for a period of five consecutive hunting years immediately following
the release, submit "not detected" post-mortem test results for:
(i)50 percent of liberated deer that are harvested
at the release site; or
(ii)if no liberated deer are harvested at the release
site in any hunting year, 50 percent of hunter-harvested deer.
(C)Upon the satisfaction of the provisions of paragraph
(3)(B) of this subsection, a Class II release site becomes a Class
I release site.
(4)Class III Release Site.
(A)A release site is a Class III release site if:
(i)it has:
(I)received deer from an originating facility that
is a TC 3 facility; or
(II)received an exposed deer within the previous five
years or has transferred deer to a CWD-positive facility within the
five-year period preceding the confirmation of CWD in the CWD-positive
facility; and
(ii)has not been released from a TAHC hold order related
to activity described in clause (i) of this subparagraph.
(B)The landowner of a Class III release site must
submit post-mortem 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 liberated deer released
on the release site between the last day of lawful hunting on the
release in the previous hunting year and the last day of lawful hunting
on the release site during the current hunting year; provided, however,
this minimum harvest and testing provision may only be substituted
as prescribed in a TAHC herd plan.
(C)No breeder deer may be transferred to a Class III
release site unless the deer has been tagged in one ear with a NUES
tag or button-type RFID tag approved by the department.
The agency certifies that legal counsel has reviewed
the proposal and found it to be within the state agency's legal authority
to adopt.
Filed
with the Office of the Secretary of State on April 11, 2016
TRD-201601678 Ann Bright
General Counsel
Texas Parks and Wildlife Department
Earliest possible date of adoption: May 22, 2016
For further information, please call: (512)
389-4775
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