Nearly 250 'Zombie' Deer Killed in State's Largest Outbreak Yet

Texas agents killed a jaw-dropping 249 white-tailed "zombie" deer following a battle with a rancher that has gone on for over three years, in what's being called the largest outbreak of chronic wasting disease the state has ever seen.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a contagious infection found in animals such as deer, elk, moose, and reindeer, which has no vaccine or treatment and is always fatal. Symptoms include a lack of coordination or stumbling, weight loss, listlessness, drooling, and a lack of fear of people.

Texas Parks and Wildlife Department officials told USA Today that the deer were eradicated last Thursday using rifles and pistols at the 1,500-acre RW Trophy Ranch in Terrell, TX, about 33 miles east of Dallas. The property is owned by veteran rancher Robert Williams and his daughter, Maree Lou Williams. The first deer to have contracted CWD was found on the Williams' ranch in early 2021, and it wasn't long before more deer tested positive.

Though Williams had a permit to breed deer, Texas law states all white-tailed deer in the state are owned by the public, including those held by private breeders. As such, state officials authorized a kill-order for the sick animals. In turn, Williams filled a suit against the TPWD and Texas Animal Health Commission in January 2022 in an attempt to overturn the depopulation order.

Eventually, the legal battle went all the way to the Texas Supreme Court, after the Houston 14th Court of Appeals initially upheld the state's decision earlier this year. And the highest court in the state ultimately decided that eradicating the deer did not violate Williams’ property rights.

Texas state wildlife press officer Lerrin Johnson said on Monday that the deer carcasses were taken to a biohazard waste dump 100 miles away in Waco, TX, and that "nearly 90 percent of samples collected this year tested positive or suspect positive."

"This is a task we never take lightly and that is always a last resort, but that has proven the most prudent and standard practice for managing prion diseases in wildlife," TPWD said in a statement. "If CWD is not contained and controlled, the implications of the disease for Texas and its multi-billion-dollar ranching, hunting, wildlife management, and real estate economies could be significant."