Strange game laws and fees

While driving down 41 the other day I noticed strange new signs on a new high fence, and then down the road a few miles I noticed the same signs on an older high fenced ranch.

At first I just thought the signs were some excentric new ranch owners until I saw the older ranch with the signs.

A google search showed the reason is that if you release quail etc for shooting, you must post these signs. Has this been a law for some time and I've just been oblivious, or is this a new law?

Seems pretty silly, since "private" can be assumed, and what does stating that "this is a bird hunting area" do??

http://tpwd.texas.gov/publications/pwdfo...ation_sheet.pdf

To me it just lets neighbors or anyone driving by know that the hunting they see out of the normal season is legal within the licensed bird hunting area.

Wonder if the signs are provided.

yeah been around for a while.. your also suppose to band the birds and record each one I believe... its a PITA then you get to watch people shoot a bird you just threw in that same spot 30 minutes ago... oh yay so exciting... It wont bother me if I don't shoot a quail ever again

Never heard of this?

I was told by an employee at the hunting preserve in Chalk mountain, they used jeeps with "quail cannons" on the front and would "shoot" out quail for those rich fellas to shoot out of a high rack. I don't recall ever seening leg tags or signs when I visited in the mid 90's?

Ok that makes some sense. Keeps calls to GW's down. Theoretically.

I wouldn't let that ruin quail hunting for me. But it sounds like u may have some experience with that that I don't.

I just had never seen signs like that before and it seemed strange.

Another law that I know is not known about or followed closely is the lease license requirement. Over half of the folks I know who lease never even heard of it, or just don't buy them.

IMO it's just another tax on the evil rich landowner.

What sport is this? Might as well shoot clay pigeons.

How do those clay pigeons taste when you eat them?

Spot on Rancher. Last 3 leases I have been on the LO did not know about the law.

Doesn't work that way in my part of the world. Game Wardens in our district check for a posted license every time they check out a permanent camp. Temporary campsites on a smaller place are usually ignored but if a place has a permanent camp, we better have a copy of our license posted.

Yep. I have ranches and neighbors in three different regions. Over half of the landowners haven't heard of the law. What saves them is that the wardens really don't enforce it.

Yep. I post it at my big lake ranch. But I don't at the south Texas or hill country place, mainly because I'm at those ranches when someone is hunting there. And it's a very high % of landowners in those areas that don't know about the law.

Years ago I remember reading about releasing pen raised birds and the possible problems of introducing avian diseases into the local wild bird population. Is this one of the possible reasons for keeping a better control on these types of operations?

I agree wholeheartedly that there a bunch of fees everywhere you look and on everything you do. Way moreso in other areas too. At least I used to could tell myself that wildlife stuff is going to wildlife. Up until they started raiding wildlife designated funds for the general fund.

Avian diseases are overstated. Most those birds don't live long because they arent use to fending for themselves, food and predator wise.

Yepper

Yup... turned out about 2,000 birds a year in good habitat and maybe 1/4 of them were shot... and the only ones that lived were the ones that found the bird feeders at the lodge

a cpl years ago I saw a pheasant walking down the middle of the road in SE Nac County. This stupid bird had to come across the river and through some nasty stuff to get to where it was from where it was released.