Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting Texas Experience

I ran into something similar a few years back. I killed my buck in TX, and was going to debone it for the trip back to TN. TN law at the time (it may have changed, I don't know) said you could not bring game killed in other states back to TN with the bone in it. Catch 22, TX you can't transport with the bone out, TN you can't come into the state with bone in.
I did not know the TX law until after I had killed my deer. I dang sure was not going to stop in OK, or Arkansas on the side of the road and debone it, so I had to sign a surrender tag in TX.

The root cause of this issue is a bad law.

Hunter not knowing the regs.

LEO not using discretion. To my knowledge, hunter was legally licensed and took game legally.

That should be the priority of the CO. Not some idiotic law about a person's property.

Here's a site that addresses the question regarding transporting deer meat from Texas to other states:

Transporting Harvested Deer Across State Lines: CWD - www.buckmanager.com

Full Text of Linked Write-Up:

Bringing Home Harvested Deer

Question: “How do we prepare harvested deer in Texas to be transported to other states which have regulations related to CWD? The regulations for deer from other states to be transported to Mississippi are contrary to Texas requirements for transporting deer. Mississippi requires all meat to be deboned with no skin or heads to be brought into state unless mounted by a taxidermist or a boiled down head plate with antlers.

This is contrary to Texas requirements which says that the head with hunting license tag must accompany 2 front quarters, 2 hind quarters and 2 back straps. This prevents me from taking deer from Texas to my home in Mississippi. Do I have to stop hunting in Texas? What can I do to remedy this problem and adhere to both state’s requirements? Please let me know as my hunting trip to Texas in coming up in November.”

Transport from CWD-Positive States

Mississippi and other states where Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) has not been documented have passed regulations that prohibit the importation of cervid carcasses and deer parts from states where CWD has been found. A cervid is a member of the deer family and includes white-tailed deer, mule deer, elk, moose, caribou, red deer, sika deer, and fallow deer. Many states have carcass import bans, even those that have already found CWD within the state.

The goal of these importation rules is to prevent hunters from inadvertently fast-tracking the spread of the neurological disease that is fatal to deer. As of October 1 2016, CWD has been found in 24 states within the continental US and the Canadian provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan, as well as the countries of Norway and South Korea.

CWD Regulations and Transporting Deer

CWD has been confirmed in the following states: Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.

Texas Deer Hunting Regulations

In Texas, a hunter may skin and quarter a deer into 2 forequarters, 2 hindquarters and 2 backstraps and possess them for transport, provided the quartered deer is tagged and proof of sex accompanies the deer.

Texas hunting regulations also require the head as proof of sex for harvested deer. The regulations state that it is unlawful to possess a deer with proof of sex removed unless the deer is at a final destination and has been quartered. The regulations go on to say that proof of sex for a deer is:

- the head (skinned or unskinned) of a buck deer with antlers attached
- the head (skinned or unskinned) of an antlerless deer
- a completed Managed Lands Deer Permit (MLD), Landowner Assisted Management Permits (LAMPS), or TPWD Drawn Hunt Legal Deer Tag

There are, however, three exceptions to the proof of sex requirement covered in Texas’ hunting regulations. Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) regulations read, “Instead of proof of sex, the hunter may obtain a (1) receipt from a taxidermist or a (2) signed statement from the landowner or the landowner’s agent,” and it was recently published that a (3) CWD receipt from a CWD check station also serves as proof of sex.

Basically, there are a number of ways to meet the proof of sex requirement without having to maintain possession of the head. This allows complete disposal of antlerless/doe heads. For bucks, it also allows hunters to transport antlers with cleaned skull plates in compliance with CWD import rules for their home state.

A Bone to Pick

But what about bone-in fore and hindquarters? At the time of writing, Texas hunting regulations only allow hunters to legally process harvested deer down to 4 quarters and 2 backstraps until the animal reaches its final destination. Period. End of story.

Even in Texas’ 2 CWD zones, where mandatory testing is required on all hunter-harvested deer, hunters are still allowed to transport quarters out to other parts of the state. The problem is that what is legally required in Texas all of a sudden becomes a game violation when those fore and hindquarters are brought into a state that has banned bone-in meat from CWD states.

Most states with CWD carcass restrictions require deboned meat.

Taking Meat Home: Process It

For hunters living in states with cervid carcass import bans, there appears to be only one way to lawfully take boneless venison out of Texas, have your deer processed before bringing it home. There are two options, however, when it comes to processing harvested game. Deer and other cervids must be brought to either (1) a commercial deer processing facility or (2) a “private processing facility.”

A private processing facility is a processing facility that is not available for use by the public. The processing facility must be a stationary facility that is on-site and is designed and constructed to process game animals. There does not appear to be any registration process involved in setting up such a facility, but any place operating as such must meet the requirements previously mentioned and maintain a “Cold Storage or Processing Facility Record Book.”

It would take some resources to put together such a place, even if the site was simply a small building with water, table, grinder and a freezer of some type, but it could be well worth it depending on the number of animals harvested by the hunter or hunters off a property annually.

In closing, to follow the rules of the state you are hunting in as well as that of your home state, you will need to have all deer processed, either by a commercial or private processing facility, before crossing a state line. It appears to be the only legal way.

See below for Texas official description of the different processing facility options.

Link: Cold Storage, Processing and Taxidermy - tpwd.com

Facilities

A cold storage or processing facility may be established anywhere, including on property where hunting is conducted. It must be stationary and designed to process and/or store wild game. A vehicle, trailer, or other mobile storage or processing arrangement is not lawful.

Commercial Cold Storage or Processing Facility Record Keeping Requirements

A person may place and maintain, or possess, in a cold storage or processing facility, lawfully harvested game birds and game animals not in excess of the number permitted to be possessed by law, if the owner, operator, or lessee of the cold storage or processing facility maintains the record book as required by law with:

- name, address, and hunting license number of all persons placing game animals or game birds in storage (if a person other than the person who harvested the game bird or animal, places a game bird or game animal in storage, that person’s name and address must be included);
- number and species of all game animals and game birds in storage, and
- date each game animal or game bird was placed in storage (information must be entered into the record book before game is placed in storage)

Type 1 Commercial Cold Storage or Processing Facility Requirements

A place of business open to the public for the purpose of storing or processing game animals or game birds upon demand on a for-profit basis or in exchange for anything of value must comply with the record keeping requirements described above, and as follows:

- tags, permits, or WRDs, when applicable, must remain attached to birds until the birds are finally processed;

- tags, permits, or WRDs, when applicable, must remain attached to pronghorn until the carcass is quartered; for deer, tagging and proof of sex requirements cease once the required information detailed above has been entered in the cold storage log, and the county and name of the ranch or property where the deer was harvested has been recorded.

- for deer: tag, or WRD, as applicable, must be retained on the premises for as long as the carcass or any part of the carcass remains in the possession of the cold storage or processing facility.

Type 2 Commercial Cold Storage or Processing Facility on Hunting Lease Requirements

A cold storage facility that is not open to the public on an on-demand basis, and is utilized to store or process game taken by persons on properties where hunting by individuals in return for pay or other consideration occurs (a hunting lease) must comply with the record keeping requirements described above, and as follows:

- For turkey, proof of sex and tagging requirements cease to apply when the turkey has been entered in a cold storage record book.

- Once a deer or pronghorn has been entered in the cold storage record book it may be finally processed.

Proof of sex and tagging requirements continue to apply until the deer or pronghorn has at least been quartered and entered into the record book.

Private, Non-Commercial, Family-Owned Cold Storage or Processing Facility

Except as noted below, a cold storage record book is not required for game animals or game birds placed in a private, family-owned, non-commercial cold storage or processing facility that is not used by paying hunters; however, all tagging and proof of sex requirements apply. At a private, non-commercial facility where a record book meeting the requirements of a commercial cold storage or processing facility is voluntarily maintained, proof of sex and tagging requirements are the same as for a Type 2 commercial facility (described above).

Save your tag and/or permit. After a wildlife resource reaches its final destination and tagging requirements have ceased, the possessor is encouraged to retain tags or permits in order to prevent delay or problems (cold storage or processor refusing to accept meat, etc.). When taking game (meat/ head/hide) that you have processed at home to a commercial processor, simply attach the appropriate hunting license tag or permit to the game.

Taxidermist

Hunters who give any part of a game animal or game bird to a taxidermist for mounting must attach a WRD (not the tag from the hunting license or permit) to the part.

In return, for deer, pronghorn, turkey and pheasant, the taxidermist must give the hunter a receipt as prescribed in Proof of Sex - Exception. The taxidermist “proof of sex” receipt for the part must accompany the tagged carcass until it reaches its final destination and is finally processed. If the taxidermist places any game animal or game bird in cold storage, then the cold storage or processing facility record book is required by law. Without the appropriate record book and a WRD accompanying the game animal or game bird, a taxidermist may be exceeding the prescribed possession limits for game animals and game birds. Taxidermy information packets may be downloaded.

A taxidermist who accepts a deer or turkey shall retain the accompanying WRD or tag for two years following the return of the resource to the owner or the sale of the deer or turkey mount to recover taxidermy cost.

In TX anything besides the final destination or a processing facility is considered in the field. A member posted the regulations. Go read them.

After passing along very incorrect info about CWD and how it spreads, it's more than a little ironic that you're so matter-of-factly directing everyone to the official info...

If CWD in muscle tissue or leg bones was such a concern nobody would allow any game to be transported. Most states understand that it is mostly the spine and brain. And if you think I am wrong about the TX regs, go read them

So a family member cannot give me meat to bring home that they process at their place because it isn't at its final destination??

Can't process your deer at another guys place and take it home because it wasn't at its final destination??

I get what the regs say and I know what I would do in the OPs shoes.

and then you run into the state law that says you can only bring in deer with NO bones.

Do those deer read the laws as they wander from one state to another??

Like the geniuses that said no waterfowl can be brought back from Canada?? Do they think those birds aren't going to migrate on their own?

I read em.

Have also read Websters dictionary and I know the meaning of in the field.

Game warden just another azzhat flexing his muscles.

No, it's not mostly in the brain and spine. That simply isn't how CWD works. It's a TSE related to Mad Cow. Do you think people contracted that by eating brain and spine? As far as anyone knows, CWD is not transmissible to humans but it also hasn't been studied long enough to know if there are long-term consequences to consuming infected meat.

Seriously... do even a minimum amount of research before spreading blatantly false information that will end up archived in search engines.

It's transmitted through body fluid -- urine, feces, saliva, blood, birthing matter -- which is why transmission happens most often when animals congregate to feed, drink, or give birth. (This is why it's a concern for elk but not as much as for deer... elk give birth in more isolated settings and aren't typically being artificially fed [corn feeders] in the wild.) The reason there isn't a concern about the disease being spread through de-boned muscle tissue is because that's the part of the carcass least likely to come into contact with another animal and further transmission. If you're traveling with a whole carcass, quarters, or other forms of meat on the bone, you're going to travel with more of the infected animal, process it at your final location, and then discard those extra parts somewhere. It's the discarded parts that biologists are concerned about. The prion involved with CWD is VERY long-lasting... it can sit in soil or on grass (birthing fluid, blood, urine, etc.) for a very long time and be passed from one animal to another that way. It can also be picked up by scavengers, moved, and then brought into contact with other animals actually capable of contracting the disease. This is why biologists put such a big emphasis on how you dispose of carcasses and specifically ask you NOT to leave them exposed in the field. CWD prevention at this point is mostly about keeping distinct populations of deer isolated from each other -- meaning isolated from the prions -- to avoid geographic spread.

What about the exotic deer species or even hogs? Can they be de-boned and exported via vehicle out of Texas ?

Non-game animals are not subject to the rule. It was intended long ago to help check for poaching and waste.

Yep. Hogs are considered Vermin in TX. Just like Yankee Pollacks from ILLINOIS. 😂😂😂

Wrong.

👍🏿