The Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission in a duly noticed meeting on May 24, 2018, adopted amendments to §§65.90, 65.91, 65.95, and 65.97 concerning Chronic Wasting Disease - Movement of Deer. Sections 65.90, 65.95, and 65.97 are adopted with changes to the proposed text as published in the April 20, 2018, issue of the Texas Register (43 TexReg 2370). Section 65.91 is adopted without change and will not be republished.

The change to §65.90, concerning Definitions, is a minor grammatical correction to (39).

The change to §65.95, concerning Movement of Breeder Deer, eliminates a citation in subsection (a). The proposed amendment would have removed a reference to a subsection in §65.610 in order to make the entirety of §65.610 applicable; the department has determined that the citation is itself irrelevant, as the language of subsection (a) predicates the movement of deer upon the approval by the department of a permit activation, which makes a citation of any kind redundant. The Department also made a grammatical correction to (F)(2).

The change to §65.97, concerning Testing and Movement of Deer Pursuant to a Triple T or TTP Permit, is a minor grammatical correction in the Section title.

The amendments require certain permittees to provide precise geospatial information to identify locations where white-tailed or mule deer are transferred under department-issued permits.

Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a fatal neurodegenerative disorder that affects some cervid species, including white-tailed deer, mule deer, elk, red deer, sika, and their hybrids (susceptible species). It is classified as a TSE (transmissible spongiform encephalopathy), a family of diseases that includes scrapie (found in sheep), bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE, found in cattle), and variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (vCJD) in humans.

Much remains unknown about CWD. The peculiarities of its transmission (how it is passed from animal to animal), infection rate (the frequency of occurrence through time or other comparative standard), incubation period (the time from exposure to clinical manifestation), and potential for transmission to other species are still being investigated. There is no scientific evidence to indicate that CWD is transmissible to humans. What is known is that CWD is invariably fatal to cervids, and is transmitted both directly (through deer-to-deer contact) and indirectly (through environmental contamination). Moreover, recent research shows that several deer herds with a long history of CWD and high prevalence rates are experiencing population impacts. Those impacts include higher than normal mortality rates in infected deer, a shift to a younger herd age structure, and local population declines. Human dimensions research suggests that hunters will avoid areas of high CWD prevalence. Additionally, the apparent persistence of CWD in contaminated environments represents a significant obstacle to eradication of CWD from either farmed or free-ranging cervid populations.

CWD has been discovered in multiple locations in Texas, in both captive and free-ranging populations of native deer, which the department believes constitutes an existential threat to those resources, as well as the economies dependent upon them. In response, the department has engaged in rulemakings in recent years to protect free-ranging and captive cervid populations from the spread of CWD. A crucial component of that effort is the monitoring of free-ranging deer that are trapped and translocated under department-issued permits and captive-bred deer that are introduced to, transferred among, and released from captive herds under department-issued permits. Such activities occur in virtually every area of the state. Because of the sheer geographic scale involved, the accuracy of geographical information regarding the locations where deer have been transferred by humans is one of the most important components of efficacious disease management efforts. Knowing more precisely where individual animals are and have been allows epidemiological investigators to quickly and accurately determine the source and extent of pathways for disease propagation and allows responders to focus resources efficiently and effectively.

The department is concerned that current rules governing the movement of live deer under various department-issued programs do not impose a consistent standard for identifying the locations where such deer are trapped, possessed, or transferred, which has the potential to complicate or even confound the department's CWD management efforts. The department has determined that the contents of applications and registrations relating to facility location and infrastructure should be specified by rule in order to avoid misunderstandings, confusion, or the implication that the information required in an application is voluntary rather than mandatory or that the accuracy of the information is open to interpretation by an applicant. To that end, the department has determined that it is prudent to mandate all required facility registrations (deer breeding facilities (and associated transfer destinations), deer management permit facilities, sites associated with trap, transport, and transplant permits, and trap, transport, and process permits) to include a georeferenced map delineating the exact boundaries of each facility. This will allow the department to more quickly and effectively respond to CWD detections, promote efficiency in administrative processes, enhance enforcement of regulations, and prevent attempts to circumvent CWD testing requirements.

The amendment to §65.90, concerning Definitions, alters the definition of "facility" to include locations affected by permits for the trapping, transporting, and processing of game animals (TTP).

The amendment to §65.91, concerning General Provisions, prohibits the introduction or removal of deer from a facility unless a georeferenced map (a map image incorporating a system of geographic ground coordinates, such as latitude/longitude or Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) coordinates) showing the exact boundaries of the facility has been submitted to the department prior to any such introduction or removal.

The amendment to §65.95, concerning Movement of Breeder Deer, eliminates a reference to §65.610 in subsection (a), which is necessary to eliminate redundancy.

The amendment to 65.97, concerning Testing and Movement of Deer Pursuant to Triple T or TTP Permit, removes subsection (a)(2), which is no longer necessary.

The department received no comments opposing adoption of the proposed rules.

The department received 14 comments supporting adoption of the rules as proposed.

The Texas Wildlife Association commented in support of the adoption of the proposed rules.

The amendments are adopted under the authority of Parks and Wildlife Code, Chapter 43, Subchapter C, which requires the commission to adopt rules to govern the collecting, holding, possession, propagation, release, display, or transport of protected wildlife for scientific research, educational display, zoological collection, or rehabilitation; Subchapter E, which requires the commission to adopt rules for the trapping, transporting, and transplanting of game animals and game birds, urban white-tailed deer removal, and trapping and transporting surplus white-tailed deer; Subchapter L, which authorizes the commission to make regulations governing the possession, transfer, purchase, sale, of breeder deer held under the authority of the subchapter; Subchapter R, which authorizes the commission to establish the conditions of a deer management permit, including the number, type, and length of time that white-tailed deer may be temporarily detained in an enclosure; Subchapter R-1, which authorizes the commission to establish the conditions of a deer management permit, including the number, type, and length of time that mule deer may be temporarily detained in an enclosure (although the department has not yet established a DMP program for mule deer authorized by Subchapter R-1); and §61.021, which provides that no person may possess a game animal at any time or in any place except as permitted under a proclamation of the commission.