What are the chances of finding CWD on my ranch?
CWD is not known to be widespread in Texas. Annually, TPWD collects 12,000 to 15,000 samples from deer in the free-ranging population. This sampling effort provides us with confidence that CWD has not expanded outside areas where it is known to exist or has been recently introduced to new areas where the prevalence is too low in those free-ranging populations to have been detected yet. The likelihood of CWD being present in the deer population on your ranch is very low. However, risk for CWD being present on or near your property may increase where exposed deer from CWD-positive breeding facilities have been released on high-fenced breeder release sites, or if your property is adjacent to a CWD positive breeding facility. Landowners can increase their confidence CWD is not present on their property by testing hunter-harvested deer each hunting season.
Expanded and enhanced CWD surveillance efforts by TPWD during hunting season should not be cause for undue alarm. The increased sampling effort is an attempt to detect the disease in areas where it may have been recently introduced, which may provide greater management options for the landowner. For more information on where CWD has been found, see the CWD in Texas webpage.
What are the benefits of CWD testing deer harvested from my ranch?
CWD testing hunter-harvested deer from your ranch provides confidence to you and your hunters that CWD is not present in the deer population on your property. Long-term monitoring on your ranch also serves to provide a testing history which could be important if CWD is found in isolated populations in the general area near your ranch — such as a deer-breeding facility — and help to provide confidence that CWD is indeed isolated to that population. Annual monitoring may also allow for early detection of the disease, providing an opportunity to eliminate the establishment of CWD in the deer population.
What will happen if CWD is discovered on my ranch?
Disease management strategies would likely involve recommended actions intended to limit the spread and distribution of CWD from the area where it exists, which could be limited to a specific property. Understanding several factors that could affect disease prevalence and spread (e.g., geographic extent of the disease, infection rates, how and when the disease was introduced to the area, fence height that may limit immigration/emigration, etc.) would help determine the recommended response to address the CWD discovery.
If CWD is discovered on your property, the recommended actions will depend on the circumstances, but landowners might expect some of the general processes listed below to occur.
- Once a CWD-positive is discovered in a white-tailed deer, mule deer or other susceptible species, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department will contact the property owner and open a dialogue about the disease discovery.
- Hunter harvest and voluntary sampling will likely be recommended to determine the geographic extent, disease prevalence, possible sources for the introduction of CWD.
What are some of the different types of disease management strategies available to manage CWD?
Strategies may include:
- Recommend activities that minimize unnatural concentration of deer.
- Restrict unnatural movement of live deer.
- Provide education about CWD and how landowners/hunters can help prevent or reduce the risk of spreading CWD.
- Recommend harvest recommendations to manage for healthy deer population.
Will I have to pay for CWD testing from deer I submit or my hunters submit?
TPWD will pay for testing on all samples collected by TPWD staff. Therefore, hunters and landowners are encouraged to contact TPWD wildlife biologists to have a deer tested for CWD. Find your Wildlife Biologist for your county or Wildlife District.
Landowners or hunters who collect and submit their own CWD samples to Texas A&M Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory (TVMDL) are responsible for those CWD-testing expenses.
Will I be able to keep the antlers from a buck that I want to have tested for CWD?
Yes! Antlers may be retained by hunters who desire to have CWD samples collected. A proper tissue sample (retropharyngeal lymph node or obex) may be collected without damaging the cape or antlers. Hunters retaining the antlers are strongly encouraged to discard brain tissue or other nervous system material in a landfill or at the location of harvest (preferably buried).
Where should I dispose of inedible carcass parts or heads after field dressing or cleaning my animal?
To minimize the risk of spreading CWD through infected carcass parts and contaminating the environment, hunters or persons receiving deer carcasses are strongly encouraged to dispose of inedible carcass parts at the site of harvest, preferably buried, or in the trash that will go to a landfill. Brain matter, eyes, lymph nodes, tonsils, spleen and spinal cord are tissues where infectious CWD prions concentrate and should be disposed of in an appropriate location.
How will I be able to find out what the CWD test results are for the deer I submitted for testing?
Results from CWD samples collected by TPWD staff will be made available on the TPWD CWD website within about 2 weeks of collecting samples. Each person will receive a CWD sample receipt with a unique identification number for each CWD sample taken. The results will be posted by the CWD sample identification number on the receipt. To see your CWD test results, go to the CWD test results webpage and enter the receipt number.