Two Texas men owe $12,060 in fines for a combined 60 violations related to smuggling captive whitetail deer across the state and other charges, a TPWD press release announced on Feb. 6.
The men—a deer breeder and his business partner—were caught during a traffic stop in Montgomery County, north of Houston. They drove a white pickup truck hauling a stock trailer, according to a TPWD photo. Upon searching the trailer, the game warden discovered seven stowaway whitetails, all of which lacked the paperwork and identification numbers necessary under state law for captive deer transfers. Due to the untraced nature of these whitetails, they were referred to as “ghost deer” throughout the investigation.
Captive deer transfers require transfer permits, according to the Texas Administrative Code. Chronic wasting disease tests are also required before breeder deer can be transferred.
The men were transporting the deer illegally from a licensed captive breeding facility in East Texas to Brazoria County due south of Houston and Duval County east of Laredo. According to the press release, the men intended to release the deer illegally onto “wild” private property without conducting chronic wasting disease testing or following the other regulatory requirements intended to protect both captive and wild deer herds across the Lone Star State.
The investigation also resulted in a series of drug and alcohol-related charges. Game wardens seized dart guns and prescription drugs, some of which were tranquilizers, according to the caption on another TPWD photo from the bust.
The captive deer breeder originally faced a traffic code violation, 11 criminal code violations, and 29 deer breeder violations. He ultimately pled guilty to three criminal violations and all 29 deer breeder violations. His business partner was convicted of all 28 deer breeder violations and two criminal code violations.
The men were booked into Montgomery County Jail and fined a combined $12,060. TPWD did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the mens’ identities or when the bust and convictions took place, but the investigation into the incident has concluded.
Read Next: Poachers Busted in Texas After Tripling Daily Duck Limit While Using Prohibited Lead Shot
“Flagrant violations, such as intentionally transferring deer without identifiers, hinder Texas’ ability to identify the source of a deer in the event of a disease detection,” TPWD law enforcement director Col. Ronald VanderRoest said in the press release. “This creates the potential for negative impacts to the health of both captive and free ranging deer populations, the deer breeder industry, landowners, hunters and Texas’ outdoor and rural based economies, where white-tailed deer hunting has a $9.6 billion annual economic contribution.”
