Texas fight against deer disease threatens breeding industry

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Texas has seen a record number of chronic wasting disease cases this year. The state is looking for new ways to contain the spread without driving deer breeders out of business.

From left: Hostage and Mariachi, two bucks at John True's breeding facility in Hunt County on Sept. 9, 2024. True said he named Hostage when he was in a bad mood over the state's quarantine rule on his breeding facility. Just like the buck's name, he feels trapped.HUNT COUNTY — Under the shadows of tall post oak trees, two white-tailed deer snap their heads in high alert as John True tosses corn at them.

Texas Parks and Wildlife has detected CWD in 31 of Texas' 254 counties and 34 captive breeding facilities. The state has a CWD management plan, which has stayed pretty much the same since it was adopted more than a decade ago. Commissioner William Leslie Doggett said: “A lot of landowners feel as though they're under siege here.”

Under those rules, a positive test for CWD in a breeding pen results in the state creating a surveillance zone — which extends two miles around the pen. Breeders in surveillance zones can still move or sell deer as long as they meet the testing requirements. If a breeder doesn’t agree to either option, state wildlife officials say they may have to euthanize the entire herd as a last resort. The agency may also issue a fine that can range from $25 to $500.

Conservationists like Mary Pearl Meuth, president of the Texas Chapter of the Wildlife Society, defended the zones at the meeting. Meanwhile, a coalition of hunters, landowners and conservationists want the agency to further limit the movement of live deer from breeding facilities. If they are moved, they ask that the agency require a permanent visible identification on all deer released from captivity in order to quickly trace infected animals back to the breeding facility.

 

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