89R11932 MP-D
By: Curry H.B. No. 4939
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the ownership of deer in this state.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 1.011, Parks and Wildlife Code, is
amended by amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (a-1) to
read as follows:
(a) Except as provided by Subsection (a-1), all [All] wild
animals, fur-bearing animals, wild birds, and wild fowl inside the
borders of this state are the property of the people of this state.
(a-1) A deer is the personal property of the owner of the
tract of land on which the deer is located, provided the tract of
land is surrounded by a fence not less than seven feet in height
that is capable of retaining the deer at all times under reasonable
and ordinary circumstances.
SECTION 2. Section 1.013, Parks and Wildlife Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 1.013. FENCES. This code does not prohibit or
restrict the owner or occupant of land from constructing or
maintaining a fence of any height on the land owned or occupied, and
an owner or occupant who constructs such a fence is not liable for
the restriction of the movement of wild animals by the fence.
Except as provided by Section 1.011(a-1), the [The] existence of a
fence does not affect the status of wild animals as property of the
people of this state.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.