Texas Register, Volume 37, Number 30, Pages 5519-5676, July 27, 2012 Page: 5,564
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Filed with the Office of the Secretary of State on July 16, 2012.
TRD-201203632
Ann Bright
General Counsel
Texas Parks and Wildlife Department
Earliest possible date of adoption: August 26, 2012
For further information, please call: (512) 389-4775
CHAPTER 65. WILDLIFE
SUBCHAPTER B. DISEASE DETECTION AND
RESPONSE
31 TAC 65.80 - 65.85
The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (department) pro-
poses new 65.80 - 65.85, concerning Chronic Wasting
Disease (CWD). The proposed new rules, if adopted, will be
in new Subchapter B within Chapter 65, concerning Disease
Detection and Response. On July 10, 2012, the department
confirmed the first known cases of susceptible species of wildlife
infected with CWD in the state of Texas. Texas now joins 19
other states and two Canadian provinces where CWD has been
detected. The proposed new rules are a result of cooperation
between the department and the Texas Animal Health Com-
mission (TAHC) to protect susceptible species of exotic and
native wildlife from CWD. TAHC is the state agency charged
with disease management in livestock and exotic species. The
rules proposed by TAHC were published in the July 6, 2012,
issue of the Texas Register (37 TexReg 5061).
In general, in order to minimize the risk of CWD expanding be-
yond the area(s) in which it currently exists, the department's
proposed new rules: (1) define geographic areas the depart-
ment has determined, using the best available science and data,
where the detection of CWD in Texas has occurred or is proba-
ble (Containment Zones (CZ)), or there is an elevated possibil-
ity of detection (High Risk Zones (HRZ)); (2) increase disease
monitoring requirements and/or restrict activities conducted un-
der any permit authorizing the capture, release, or possession
of live cervid species (cervids are a family of animals includ-
ing deer, elk, moose, and caribou) regulated by the department
(white-tailed deer and mule deer) in a CZ or HRZ; and (3) au-
thorize the department's executive director to declare other geo-
graphic areas that meet the regulatory definition as a CZ or HRZ.
CWD is a fatal neurodegenerative disorder that affects cervid
species such as white-tailed deer, mule deer, elk, and others
(susceptible species). It is classified as a transmissible spongi-
form encephalopathy, a family of diseases that includes scrapie
(found in sheep) and Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE,
found in cattle and commonly known as Mad Cow Disease).
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 com-
parative standard), incubation period (the time from exposure
to clinical manifestation), and potential for transmission to other
species are still being investigated. What is known is that CWD
is invariably fatal, and can be and is passed directly from deer
to deer and indirectly through environmental contamination.
Moreover, a high prevalence of the disease in wild populations
correlates with significant deer population declines and there is
evidence that hunters tend to avoid areas of high CWD preva-
lence. The implications of CWD for Texas and its multi-billiondollar ranching, hunting, and wildlife management economies
are significant.
The department has been concerned for over a decade about
the possible emergence of CWD in wild and captive deer pop-
ulations in Texas. Since 2002, the department has tested more
than 26,500 wild deer in Texas for CWD, and cervid producers
have submitted more than 7,400 test results to the department.
The department closed the Texas border in 2005 to the entry
of out-of-state captive white-tailed and mule deer and has in-
creased regulatory requirements regarding disease monitoring
and record keeping. 31 TAC 65.611. (In 2010, the department
clarified that the border closure was also to prevent the spread
of other diseases, such as bluetongue virus, Epizootic Hem-
orrhagic Disease Virus, Malignant Catarrhal Fever, and Aden-
ovirus Hemorrhagic Disease (35 TexReg 252)).
In February of 2012, the department's concern about the emer-
gence of CWD in Texas escalated when the New Mexico Game
and Fish Department notified the department that CWD had
been detected in three mule deer taken by hunters in the Hueco
Mountains within two miles of the Texas border. Mule deer
movements in the Trans Pecos area of Texas can be 25-30 lin-
ear miles or more for an individual animal, creating the possibility
that the CWD-positive mule deer reported by New Mexico may
have been in Texas or had contact with mule deer now in Texas.
Therefore, the department and TAHC reconstituted the CWD
Task Force. This advisory group, comprised of wildlife-health
professionals and cervid producers, recommended that the
department take specific actions, including the designating
a CZ and a HRZ surrounding the geographical points where
CWD has been detected, requiring elevated disease monitor-
ing, and the restricting of deer-management practices within
those zones. The department and TAHC concurred and the
department developed the proposed rules. The department will
also implement mandatory check stations in CZs and voluntary
check stations in HRZs for hunter-killed deer under authority of
31 TAC 65.33, concerning Mandatory Check Stations.
Concurrent with the development of the proposed new rules, the
department, with the assistance and cooperation of landown-
ers and other governmental entities, including TAHC, increased
CWD surveillance and detection efforts, including the collection
of 31 mule deer samples along the Texas side of the New Mex-
ico border. On July 10, 2012, the department confirmed that two
deer taken in the Hueco Mountains tested positive for CWD.
Under Parks and Wildlife Code, Chapter 43, Subchapters E, L,
R, and R-1, the department regulates the possession of white-
tailed deer and mule deer for various purposes by permit. Sub-
chapter E governs Triple T activities (trap, transport and trans-
plant), in which game animals or game birds are captured and re-
located to adjust populations. Subchapter E also governs activi-
ties similar to Triple T activities, such as Urban White-tailed Deer
Removal Permits and Permits to Trap, Transport, and Process
Surplus White-tailed Deer. Subchapter L governs Deer Breeder
Permit (DBP) activities, which include, among other things, re-
tention of captive-raised deer within a facility for breeding pur-
poses and release of such deer into the wild. Subchapters R
and R-1 govern Deer Management Permit (DMP) activities for
white-tailed deer and mule deer, respectively, in which deer are
captured and temporarily retained for breeding purposes. (The
department notes that although DMPs for mule deer were au-
thorized by the Legislature in 2011, no DMPs for mule deer have
been issued because the department has deferred promulgation
of regulations pending acquisition of requisite data to develop bi-37 TexReg 5564 July 27, 2012 Texas Register
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Texas. Secretary of State. Texas Register, Volume 37, Number 30, Pages 5519-5676, July 27, 2012, periodical, July 27, 2012; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth243959/m1/46/: accessed May 5, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.