Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) reminds hunters to report their harvest during the antlerless deer season, Nov. 23-26.
Mandatory reporting is required for any antlerless deer harvested during the four-day doe season, along with any antlerless deer harvested during the archery, youth-only and muzzleloader seasons. Within 24 hours of harvest, hunters in the 21 counties listed below must report their harvest using either the free My Texas Hunt Harvest mobile app (for iOS and Android) or on the My Texas Hunt Harvest web page.
Counties required to report their harvest include Austin, Bastrop, Caldwell, Colorado, Comal (East of I-35), De Witt, Fayette, Goliad (North of US 59), Gonzales, Guadalupe, Hays (East of I-35), Jackson (north of US 59), Karnes, Lavaca, Lee, Travis (East of I-35), Victoria (North of US 59), Waller, Washington, Wharton (North of US 59) and Wilson.
Additionally, for the four counties that remain dedicated to archery-only hunting (Dallas, Grayson, Rockwall and Collin), hunters are required to report all white-tailed deer harvests within 24 hours through the My Harvest Hunt App during all white-tailed deer seasons. Accurate reporting allows agency wildlife biologists to properly study hunting impacts on local herds and develop more hunting opportunities.
For more information about hunting regulations, methods and seasons, consult the Outdoor Annual app. Hunters can download it free for iOS and Android.
TPWD reminds hunters that agency wildlife biologists are collecting and testing Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) samples from hunter-harvested deer to get a clearer picture of the prevalence and distribution of the disease across Texas. Proactive monitoring improves the state’s response time to CWD detection and can greatly reduce the risk of the disease further spreading to neighboring captive and free-ranging populations.
Hunters in surveillance and containment zones must meet submission requirements of harvested CWD susceptible species. Additionally, hunters outside of established surveillance and containment zones are encouraged to voluntarily submit their harvest for testing at a check station, for free, before heading home from the field. Hunters can find a map of TPWD check stations for all CWD zones on the TPWD website and in the My Texas Hunt Harvest app. New carcass movement restrictions are also in place this license year, so Texas hunters harvesting deer, elk, moose and other susceptible species in CWD-positive states must comply with carcass movement restrictions when bringing harvested animals back home. Hunters can also contact their local biologist to submit a sample.
For more information visit the TPWD CWD web page or the TAHC CWD web page.