The proposed deer corpse waste regulations and motion restrictions are subject to public comment until May 22.
Carcass Disposal
Hunters who harvest deer within a chronic-wasting disease ( CWD ) zone are currently required to follow carcass movement restrictions, which require quartering the animal’s brain and spinal cord and leaving the most infected parts of the animal. This method helps lessen the risk of CWD transmission. However, the latest restrictions on the action of deer make it difficult for hunters and landowners who struggle to quarter or debonate deer and/or lack access to a vault facility or antelope processor in a zone. One change that could be made may allow them to go to a computer and have the carcass parts properly disposed of.
A deer may die in the brush if hunters mistakenly believe their chance was a miss.
The plan does not alter how most hunters now handle their deer after harvest because many hunters take the carcass to a commercial processor who takes the parts to a professional disposal site, according to TPWD White-tailed Deer Program Leader Blaise Korzekwa. ” Hunting that process deer at home may dispose of the non-useful components in their professional garbage service.” Hunting enthusiasts who prefer to fourth or debone their deer on the house where it was harvested should follow the new proposed law.
The right disposal of all possible communicable material is crucial to reducing the potential spread of disease. If CWD is certainly contained and managed, the implications of the disease for Texas and its multibillion- money ranching, hunting, wildlife management and real estate economies may be important.
By more plainly enforcing acceptable and accessible disposal options for possible infectious tissues, the department believes a statewide carcass disposal rule will help to lessen the spread of CWD.
White-tailed deer and mule deer that were harvested in Texas and are being transported from the house of harvest are the only unused carcass parts that TPWD proposes nationwide carcass disposal measures. These carcass disposal regulations may not apply if carcass parts from indigenous animal species were not transported from the farm’s property.
Suitable removal options include:
- Using a waste that is permitted by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to obtain such waste, either directly or indirectly,
- burying the corpse at a level of no less than three feet below the ground’s natural floor, covered with at least three feet of earth material, or placed at three feet below the natural area.
- returned to the animal’s herding grounds.
As long as there is sufficient evidence of sex and tags upholding, TPWD also proposes allowing hunters to debone carcasses at the site of harvest. Each deboned carcass ‘ meat must be kept in its entirety until it reaches its final destination, in a separate bag, package, or container.
Containment Zones
In response to additional CWD detections in free-range mule deer, the proposed amendment regarding Containment Zones ( CZ ) would expand the geographic area of CZ 2 and Surveillance Zone ( SZ ) 2 in the Panhandle.
CZs refer to geographical areas where CWD has been identified and confirmed. SZs identify areas where CWD is present but poses a risk of spreading to others.
Beginning September 1, the proposed amendment would replace the requirement for mandatory check stations with voluntary testing.
- CZ 1- Hudspeth and Culberson counties
- CZ 2- Deaf Smith, Oldham and Hartley counties
- CZ 3- Medina and Uvalde counties
- CZ 4- Val Verde County
- CZ 5- Lubbock County
- CZ 6- Kimble County
Similar to how the proposed amendment to Surveillance Zones ( SZ ) replaces mandated check stations with voluntary testing measures:
- SZ 1- Culberson and Hudspeth counties
- SZ 3 — Medina and Uvalde counties
- SZ 4— Val Verde County
- SZ 5- Kimble County
- SZ 6 — Garza, Lynn, Lubbock and Crosby counties
Due to additional free-range mule deer CWD detection outside of CZ 2, mandatory CWD testing would still be conducted for SZ 2.
Additional proposed changes would only apply to areas of properties less than two miles from a CWD positive deer breeding facility ( the physical facility, not the property boundaries where the infected facility is located ), and not to those that are within a two-mile radius of the facility.
Additionally, the proposed amendment would eliminate SZ 12 in Limestone County and SZ 10 in Uvalde County. The department believes that the risk of CWD transmission has been adequately addressed in these areas due to the cooperation of the facility owner and the subsequent years of stringent mandatory testing without any positive results. The affected deer breeding facilities signed agreements requiring a suite of CWD transmission risk mitigation strategies including depopulation, enhanced disease surveillance, targeted culling of exposed animals, and cleaning and disinfection, among other methods. It is impossible to eliminate SZ designations in areas where deer breeding facilities have not implemented such measures.
Among the options for and against these proposals are:
- Online: At TPWD public comment page until May 22 at 5 p. m.
- Phone or email: Comments on the proposed changes may be submitted to TPWD Wildlife Veterinarian Dr. Hunter Reed, jhunter. reed@tpwd.texas. gov.
In person: The TPW Commission will take public comment on the proposed changes at their meeting at 9 a. m. May 23 at TPWD’s Austin headquarters. Each person’s testimony in public is limited to three minutes.
