A handful of lawmakers at the state capitol are outraged by the latest regulations adopted by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission. The new rules are aimed at controlling the spread of Chronic Wasting Disease among the Texas deer population.
Following the passage of the updated regulations, Rep. Lyle Larson, a Republican from San Antonio sent out a tweet that chastised Parks and Wildlife officials for violating private property owner’s rights.
Larson says he is one of several state lawmakers who has vowed to reign in the mandates put out by the state agency during the 2017 session.
“Parks and Wildlife definitely needs to have some legislative oversight. They passed these rules outside the legislature and I think you will see a number of bills that try to protect private property rights and protect the deer industry. It’s a billion dollar industry in the State of Texas,” Larson says.
Larson says he’s pleased the new deer regulations include a “live” test for the disease, but he says the test is expensive. So for those ranchers who cannot afford the test they will have to continue to kill off sections of their herd in order to stay compliant with the state directive.
The new rules for controlling the spread of Chronic Wasting Disease were adopted by the Commission this week. Commissioners say the new regulation will help protect the industry and Texas' 4-million deer population.
