On a sunny day in July, Maree Lou Williams offered animal crackers to a group of whitetail bucks gathered under an oak tree in TERRELL, Texas. Despite their skittish nature, two of the bucks, identified by yellow ear tags as 60 and 98, approached her. Williams has developed a personal connection with these deer, having bottle-fed some of them when they were underweight fawns. However, the state of Texas plans to euthanize all 500 captive deer at RW Trophy Ranch to prevent the spread of chronic wasting disease (CWD), a contagious brain disorder that poses a significant threat to the nation’s deer herds. This news breaks Williams’ heart, as she recalls her experiences caring for a fawn named Curly. She questions whether or not her efforts to save a 2-pound deer were worth it.
CWD is a disease that causes the misfolding of brain proteins known as prions, resulting in neurodegeneration and a slow death. It is comparable to “mad cow” disease in cattle and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in humans. While there have been no confirmed cases of CWD spreading to humans, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advises against consuming CWD-contaminated meat.
RW Trophy Ranch has become a contentious epicenter in Texas’ struggle to control the CWD outbreak at deer breeding sites that began 2½ years ago. As one of the first ranches to have deer test positive for the disease, it has experienced rapid spread, with 124 deer testing positive in 2021 alone. Alan Cain, the big game director of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, describes the outbreak as exhibiting “exponential growth.” The concern is that the disease may escape the facility and impact wild deer populations.
To prevent this, Texas wildlife officials typically euthanize all captive deer testing positive for CWD at breeding facilities, remove the top layer of soil from the pens, and bury it 6 feet underground. Nineteen deer-breeding facilities have reported positive tests since early 2021, and seven have already been depopulated. However, Ox Ranch, an infected site, is permitted to continue breeding deer for research purposes. This outbreak has caused a mass exodus of deer breeders, with a 32% drop in licensed breeders since 2021.
Among the breeders, Robert Williams, the owner of RW Trophy Ranch, stands alone in his refusal to allow the state to euthanize his deer. He sees this as an indiscriminate and inhumane slaughter of the animals he has dedicated three decades to raising. What’s surprising is that Williams has successfully obtained restraining orders to prevent the state from killing the deer whenever they attempt to do so. Wildlife officials claim that the state has historically prevailed in similar legal disputes, most of which revolve around property rights. However, the fate of the deer at RW Trophy Ranch remains unresolved, as Williams fights on two legal fronts to save his herd.
Williams is challenging the state’s authority to kill the deer not only in Travis County, where the state capital of Austin is located, but also in Kaufman County, southeast of Dallas. In both cases, restraining orders have been granted, with a jury trial scheduled for February of next year. Williams believes that he has won battles but not yet the war, stating that he has done nothing wrong. If the court rulings continue to favor Williams, it may signify expanded rights for breeders.
This stalemate has left wildlife officials searching for solutions as the disease continues to spread. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission recently adopted emergency rules to control the spread of CWD, including the establishment of a two-mile containment zone around RW Trophy Ranch. The National Deer Association has encouraged its members to support these changes, emphasizing the need to prevent the movement of captive deer in order to protect wild deer populations.
Williams has proposed alternative solutions to state officials, such as allowing only bucks that pass CWD screenings to be released, implementing a research plan similar to Ox Ranch’s, or euthanizing the does in a more humane manner. He even offered wounded veterans the opportunity to hunt and shoot the deer for free. However, wildlife officials argue that the outbreak at RW Trophy Ranch is too widespread for ongoing research or live testing, and maintaining the ranch with low deer densities would be economically unviable.
In cases like Williams’, the state suggests that breeders seek compensation funds, although these funds only cover a small portion of the losses. Despite this, Williams refuses to accept money, stating that he is not financially desperate, yet acknowledges the possibility of going broke in the future.
The ongoing dispute between Williams and the state showcases the challenges wildlife officials face as they strive to control the spread of CWD. Time will tell what the ultimate resolution will be and how it may impact breeders’ rights and the conservation of deer herds.
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