TTT permits suspended
Story by Craig Nyhus, Lone Star Outdoor News
This story originally appeared in the Nov. 12 issue.
After a lengthy and passionate discussion from stakeholders on both sides of the issues, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission approved permanent changes with respect to managing for chronic wasting disease, including increased testing requirement for deer breeders and the suspension of Trap, Transport and Transplant (TTT) permits.
Mitch Lockwood, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s Big Game Program Director, said the epidemiology suggests previous rules weren’t effective in preventing the disease, given recent discoveries at breeding facilities.
Deer breeder groups and their members opposed, saying the additional testing requirements impose an immense threat on small breeder operations.
“We’ve lost 112 deer breeders because of the costs associated with these rules,” said Texas Deer Association President John True. “We’ve dropped from 980 to 868 breeders per TPWD’s numbers. Unfortunately, I think we could lose another 10 percent or more.”
True said he feels surveillance on confidence levels should be a two-way street.
“Breeders test 100 percent of mortalities and have for years,” he said. “We get no credit for that.”
For deer breeders, the rules require that facilities submit two tissues (obex and MRLN) for testing, instead of one of the two under prior regulations; reducing the time frame from the death of a deer to the reporting/submission of materials from 14 to 7 days; increasing to testing 5 percent of eligible herds and 100 percent of mortalities; and reducing the age of deer eligible for testing from 18 to 12 months.
Should a breeder be unable to submit samples from a post-mortem deer, a 5:1 ante-mortem substitution rate (previously 3:1) was established.
Finally, the requirement of ante-mortem testing of all animals prior to release was included in the new regulations approved; and the DMP “rent-a-buck” program was prohibited.
Lockwood said public comments totaled more than 2,000 at the time of the meeting, with 60 percent in agreement; 29 percent disagreeing; and 11 percent who disagreed with a component of the changes.
A host of organizations supported the changes, including the Texas Wildlife Association, the Texas Cattle Raisers Association and the Texas Chapter of the Wildlife Society.
Reasons for opposition from TDA, Deer Breeder Corporation and individuals included included the requirement of ante-mortem tests prior to release; testing requirements when a breeder is releasing deer to an adjacent, high-fenced property with the same owner; and ownership of closed or certified herds.
Lockwood said antemortem testing did prevent the release of deer by one facility who was planning to release on adjacent property.
While officials may believe the additional costs of testing can be passed on to purchasers, breeder Grant Evridge told the commission it’s not that simple.
“I don’t know if, when or to whom I’m going to sell a deer,” he said concerned about incurring cost to test deer that might not be released.
TTT
The temporary suspension of the TTT program was approved by the Commission, with the understanding that TPWD staff would come back with recommendations by the Commission’s March 2022 meeting.
A provision included that prohibited the use of TTT from trap sites that “had ever received breeder deer” was removed from the proposed language.
Lockwood said he expects there will be enhanced surveillance for TTT trap sites after the suspension, along with some ante-mortem testing requirements prior to release.
“We need to increase confidence that trap site doesn’t have CWD,” he said.
Commission Chairman Arch H. “Beaver” Aplin III requested staff to return with a “plan that makes TTT safer and better, and efforts to expand testing data from ranches statewide.”
