1. (a) Except as provided in subsection (h) of this section, the entire perimeter of a permitted deer breeding facility, including medical facilities, shall be within a fence of no less than seven feet in height, which shall be constructed of department-approved woven wire, field fence, net mesh, chain link or welded wire that will retain breeder deer. The fence required by this subsection shall at no point be within:

   1. (1) five feet of a pen or other structure containing breeder deer; or
   2. (2) ten feet of the exterior fence of another deer breeding facility.
2. (b) A permittee shall submit to the department a letter of confirmation by a person authorized by the department to conduct facility inspections under the provisions of §65.603 of this title (relating to Application and Permit Issuance), that the perimeter fence required by subsection (a) of this section exists and is compliant with the requirements of this section.
3. (c) A deer breeding facility consists of the entirety of the area within the fence required by subsection (a) of this section.
4. (d) Within the perimeter fence required by subsection (a) of this section, breeder deer shall at all times be kept completely contained within internal fencing meeting the requirements of subsection (a) of this section, except as provided by subsection (e)(2) of this section.

5. (e) Within the space or area between the fence required by subsection (a) of this section and the fencing required by subsection (d) of this section:

   1. (1) no supplemental food or water is permitted; and
   2. (2) no animals of any kind shall have free-choice access to or be present, except what is necessary for the limited, transient period of time necessary to drive or move breeder deer in an immediate fashion between pens or structures within the facility. If breeder deer are moved within a facility under the provisions of this subsection, a person must be present and actively engaged in urging or driving the breeder deer in a direct and prompt fashion to the destination pen. It is an offense for breeder deer to be present in the space or area between the two fences of the double fence required by this section if a person is not present and actively engaged in keeping the breeder deer in constant motion from the source pen to the destination pen.

6. (f) Except as provided in this section, no deer, livestock, exotic livestock, or similar animals may be present in, confined in, or have access to a deer breeding facility other than: (1) the breeder deer reflected on the herd inventory for the facility; and

   1. (2) deer that are not required to be identified and reported to the department under the provisions of Parks and Wildlife Code, Chapter 43, Subchapter L.

7. (g) An edifice, structure, building, working facility, barn, or similar infrastructure identified on a facility diagram required under this subchapter may be used on a temporary basis to handle animals other than susceptible species, provided the animals are at no point commingled with deer within the facility or allowed to access any space within the facility that is ever occupied or used by deer within the facility other than:

   1. (1) the edifice, structure, building, working facility, barn, or similar infrastructure used to temporarily handle the animals; and
   2. (2) travel corridors, alleyways, or other access avenues to and from edifice, structure, building, working facility, barn, or similar infrastructure used to temporarily handle the animals.
   3. (3) For the purposes of this subsection, "temporary" means only the amount of time necessary to accomplish a specific short-term task and does not include any longer period of time or any period of time during which animals are unattended. The provisions of this subsection apply only to a facility permitted prior to the effective date of this subsection; following the effective date of this subsection, if a breeding facility permitted after the effective date of this subsection is not designed in such a fashion as to provide access to handling infrastructure that is external to the breeding facility, the use of such handling infrastructure for non-susceptible species is prohibited.

8. (h) An edifice, structure, building, working facility, barn, or similar infrastructure that is or is to be used or occupied by non-susceptible animals as well as the breeder deer reflected on the herd inventory for that facility is not required to be wholly within and separate from the perimeter fence required by subsection (a) of this section, but must be:

   1. (1) configured and constructed in such a fashion so as to prevent direct contact of any kind (i.e., nose-to-nose contact through a fence) between deer within the facility and susceptible species outside the facility; and
   2. (2) secured when not in use so as to prevent susceptible species from outside the facility from entering the edifice, structure, building, working facility, barn, or similar infrastructure.
9. (i) All deer breeding facilities located on a single property shall be separated by at least ten feet and facilities are prohibited from sharing infrastructure for any reason.
10. (j) The provisions of subsection (a)(2), (g), (h), and (i) of this section apply to all facilities on the effective date of this subsection; all other provisions of this section apply only to new facilities permitted on or after the effective date of this subsection. The provisions of this section in effect on the date this subsection took effect continue in force and effect for permits issued prior to the effective date of this subsection but do not control over the provisions of §65.81 of this title (relating to CWD Risk Mitigation Provisions).
11. (k) An indoor facility is acceptable if it meets the standards described in this section and provides permanent access to an outdoor environment that is sufficient for keeping the breeder deer in captivity.
12. (l) A permittee shall ensure that deer have access to adequate food, a continuous supply of water, and ample cover or shelter.
13. (m) Immediately upon discovering the escape of breeder deer from a facility, a permittee shall notify the department. The notification shall include a detailed description of the permittee's intended actions to recapture the escaped deer, including the methods that will be employed to recapture the deer and the dates and times that recapture will be attempted. The permit holder shall notify the department daily of the efforts to capture the escaped deer until the escaped deer are captured. If after ten days the permittee is unable to capture escaped breeder deer that have been reported in accordance with this subsection, the deer may not be recaptured or held in a deer breeding facility unless specifically authorized in writing by the department for purposes of disease management.
14. (n) If a permit holder is unable to recapture escaped breeder deer reported as provided under subsection (m) of this section and the breeding facility is designated as NMQ at the time of or subsequent to the time of escape under the provisions of Subchapter B, Division 2, of this chapter, the property on which the deer breeding facility is located and any tract of land contiguous to the property under common ownership shall be subject to a department disease-testing plan requiring mandatory CWD testing and reporting.

Source Note:The provisions of this §65.605 adopted to be effective December 1, 1995, 20 TexReg 9571; amended to be effective March 10, 1998, 23 TexReg 2329; amended to be effective August 15, 2001, 26 TexReg 6028; amended to be effective March 23, 2008, 33 TexReg 2548; amended to be effective March 5, 2013, 38 TexReg 1373; amended to be effective March 14, 2021, 46 TexReg 1500; amended to be effective January 18, 2024, 49 TexReg 267; amended to be effective April 13, 2025, 50 TexReg 2416.