In fact, the new 14-day testing rule, when coupled with the current testing requirements will prevent an outbreak of this nature from occurring in the future. Dear Texas Deer Breeders, As you are aware, Texas Breeders have been faced with the devastating news of 6 CWD Positive facilities. Our thoughts and prayers are with those facilities and all trace facilities that are caught in the web. Most recently, the Ox Ranch in Uvalde County received suspect positive results from one deer this past Friday. I was also informed yesterday that test results from the depopulation at WB Whitetails returned not detected on 100% of his facility. We must continue to emphasize and advocate for live testing moving forward. DBC and TDA leadership have been actively engaged in an effort to calm the storm at TPWD and TAHC. The TDA scheduled some key meetings with members of the legislature this week and asked me to attend in support of the DBC. Representing TDA were John True, Jeff Jones, and Jody Phillips, and I attended representing DBC. We travelled to Canadian, TX to meet with State Representative Ken King at his local office. Representative King is Chairman of the House Committee on Culture, Recreation and Tourism. This house committee provides legislative oversight of TPWD. The following day myself and John True met with Senator Charles Perry in Lubbock. Senator Perry is the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Ag, Water, and Rural Affairs, the Senate Committee charged with oversight of TPWD. Our meetings were productive and served to inform our legislative leaders of the point of view of the deer industry in Texas. Leadership from DBC and TDA are of the sincere opinion that all members need to engage in this discussion with their respective legislative representatives and senators in their area. Additionally, we recommend all membership reach out to the TPWD Commission Member in their area. Make no mistake, special interest groups aimed at destroying our industry are actively communicating their message to legislators and commissioners. John True and I are members of the CWD Task Force which is schedule to meet at TPWD on June 28. With certainty, we will be met with criticism of the current rules and a sense of urgency to enact changes. Your engagement in this issue is critical. I am requesting each of you contact your commissioners and legislators immediately. Below are a few talking points that may serve to guide your conversation or correspondence with legislators and commissioners. In 2016 the TPWD commission made broad changes to the comprehensive CWD and deer breeding rules to provide greater confidence that CWD was not being spread across the state. This rule package included a measure that required release sites to be high fenced to prevent breeder deer from being comingled with free range deer. Since that time breeder deer have only been released in high fenced pastures that are registered, permitted, and deemed qualified to receive deer. Deer are not being moved to, or from, sites that are nonmovement qualified. In November 2020, the TPWD commission enacted a rule requiring CWD testing to be submitted within 14 days of sample collection. This rule became effective March 14, 2021. The deer breeding industry supports this rule and asserts, had the rule been in place prior to 2020, this recent outbreak would have been significantly reduced.
TPWD staff has asserted that they felt current measures were not working. This is not a valid statement. The disease testing rules are performing better than TPWD expected. CWD has only been detected in .003 percent of Texas’ 5.7 million deer population. Only 157 white tailed deer in the entire state of Texas have tested positive for CWD. The focus of CWD testing is unreasonably slanted at breeders… more emphasis should be placed on free range testing of hunter harvested deer. CWD will only be located where it is looked for intensely. Texas deer breeders support release sites in Texas. From a hunter recruitment standpoint, all hunters and hunting opportunities are important to Texas. The TPWD Commission is actively engaged in hunter recruitment and understands we are losing hunters as Texas urbanizes. Release sites represent much needed additional hunting opportunity for Texas residents and visiting hunters. As Texas population continues to boom, land fragmentation will continue to occur. Smaller properties need all the tools available for intensive deer management, including deer breeding and the release of breeder deer. Economic impact of the deer breeding industry to Texas $1.6 billion annually, and supports 16,892 jobs, most of which are in rural areas of the state, The deer breeding industry is a growing and important segment of the Texas economy, contributing to the vitality of rural areas of the state. Texas is considered one of the best places in the world to come hunting or fishing. Much of the success enjoyed by anglers and hunters in Texas is due to the resources and tools available to our stewards and land managers. Deer breeding is one of those tools. More emphasis should be placed on live testing of trace animals and positive facilities. TWPD recently depopulated a facility containing 221 deer – 100% not detected results were received. They sacrificed an entire herd and found no positive animals while a live test was available. Contact information for State Representatives, Senators and TPWD Commissioners at the following links: • Texas House of Representatives : House Members • The Texas State Senate – Members of the Texas Senate • Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission — Texas Parks & Wildlife Department Our industry matters to Texas and its private property owners. It is time to tell our story from our point of view. As always, please contact me if you would like to discuss further. Best, Kevin Davis Chief Executive Officer • Deer Breeders Corporation PO Box 688 • Millsap, TX 76066 (972) 289-3100 Main • (512) 461-2476 Cell kevin@dbcdeer.com • www.dbcdeer.com
LOUISIANA 2021
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