New TPWD Policy on Trailing/Game Retrieval

[Cull]

New policy protects retrieval of wounded deer

Thursday, June 17, 2004

Hunters and landowners now have an official written policy to follow when trailing and retrieving wounded deer in Texas.

The policy, developed during a series of meetings between Texas Parks and Wildlife game wardens and trailing dog owners and landowners, states that finding and dispatching a wounded deer as quickly as possible are the first objectives in any such situation.

And basic to that policy is the statement that "hunt" and "retrieve" are distinct acts and that the legal prohibitions against hunting at night, hunting with a light and hunting for hire will not apply in situations involving wounded deer. Hunters, or anyone who helps them trail a wounded deer, can go about the business of finding lost deer without having to worry about violating state law.

"It is a (written) law enforcement policy that will be adhered to by all game wardens," said David Sinclair, chief of wildlife enforcement for Texas Parks and Wildlife.

The policy does what it needs to do, what it should do, to facilitate trailing wounded deer, whether with dogs or by simply following a blood trail. Still, it was a long road, with many a winding turn, that folks followed to get back to where hunters and trailers were before last deer season.

People have been trailing wounded deer since hunting began. Sometimes the guy who shoots the deer first isn't the person who actually puts it down. However, the standard has always been that he is the guy who tags it. That was traditional to hunting camps in every state and in every hunting situation, from sitting in blinds to running deer with hunting dogs.

Some of the problems that arose last deer season involved dog handlers who admitted to game wardens that they were the ones who finally dispatched a wounded deer. Some wardens believed the dog handlers should be ticketed for a tagging violation, as well as the hunters who eventually put the tags on deer they didn't actually kill. The policy addresses that situation and makes clear that dispatching a wounded deer isn't considered hunting in Texas.

"The policy makes a distinction between hunting and retrieval," Sinclair said. Retrieval starts at the end of legal hunting hours, and the policy allows hunters to dispatch the animal by any humane method. "That could include .22 rimfire. It's all built around retrieving the animal and it's designed for use with or without dogs," he said.

Game wardens are asking that the hunter who wounds a deer be the one who dispatches it whenever possible, but that isn't a requirement. The policy allows a trailing dog owner concerned about the safety of people and their dogs to be the one to kill a wounded deer, and it still allows the hunter to tag the deer legally after it is recovered.

And finally, the policy asks that hunters notify wardens whenever possible that they will be searching for a wounded deer and on which property.

[Tomme]

Thanks for the heads up. Yeah the rule which is taught in IBEP classes is the first person who made what would be a fatal shot is the hunter who should get the deer, not the person who makes a later shot or finishes the animal off.

Course, I guess the state trespass laws will still apply, so that if I need to track an animal who has passed through into the next property, I have to have the landowner's permission to track it there or I can be ticketed for trespass.

[LostHawg]

Now, that's a step in the positive direction. But, like Tomme says: Make sure you gain legal access to cross a fence.

[kodiak]

Another thing to be careful of..
Bobster can set me straight if I'm wrong... We were taught in the Huntmasters Training that if you cross a fence onto private property with a weapon, it is not only trespass, but now it becomes a FELONY. Just another thing to watch for. This is what it states in our manuals, if I'm wrong, please correct me.

[Tomme]

Kodiak I'm pretty sure that's correct, it can become "criminal trespass" which can be a felony. So get permission before you cross over, or at the very least, leave your bow on your property before you go through.

Better yet, take a game warden along. This happened on a hunt where my 10 year old son had shot a doe (with a rifle). We went back to camp for a lantern and two wardens were there. After they checked our license we told them we were going back to look for Jonathan's deer and they came along. Well the deer ran straight to, and through the fence. The wardens said, "do you know these people" and I said, "No sir." He shrugged his shoulders and we went through the fence. Doe was about 20 yards on the other side. Sometimes it's real good to have a warden in your camp!