"One of the largest deer-smuggling networks in the state’s history aimed to skirt chronic wasting disease-containment rules, officials say."
"A total of two dozen people have been charged with roughly 1,400 crimes so far in a sprawling investigation into a deer-smuggling operation that skirted chronic wasting disease containment rules, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department said Thursday in a press release. The suspects include a recent board member of the Texas Deer Association, the most prominent group representing the state's deer breeding interests.
The "ghost deer" investigation, which state wildlife officials first disclosed in February, has cast a harsh spotlight on Texas deer breeding, a small but lucrative corner of the hunting industry. Breeders typically pen-raise animals to control their genetics and maximize antler growth, then release bucks behind tall fences for paying hunters to shoot.
A series of unexplained cases of chronic wasting disease, or CWD, have repeatedly appeared at deer breeding facilities since 2021. Like mad cow disease in cattle, CWD is a contagious disorder that causes proteins in the brain called “prions” to misfold, leading to death by neurodegeneration. Biologists widely regard CWD as the greatest threat facing the country’s deer herds."
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