Can I give a deer away ?

If i want to give one of my deer away this year, I plan to harvest and quarter and give it to someone to take to the processor. Is this ok ? Watching Lone Star Law has me worried about everything. Saw a girl get a ticket for finding a hawk feather last night...

You may IF you give a wildlife resource document to the individual who took your deer meat. Remember, you cannot SELL the meat.

Just complete the game transfer form and you should be good to go.

https://tpwd.texas.gov/publications/pwdforms/media/pwd_980_l2000_wildlife_resource_document.pdf

Be sure to fill out the tag on the deer correctly, and that means cutting out the date and also complete the harvest log on your license.

good info thanks all. I have no intent to sell anything. Guy that works for me , his wife makes amazing venison tamales so he said give him a deer and I can have half the tamales she makes.

You can not barter or trade with the deer carcass either.

No tamales for you.

Doesnt sound like bartering or trading to me, your sharing your deer with your coworker and he is sharing his tamales with you!

I've been curious about this.

I was wondering if you had a resource document and gave someone a deer, and a pound of beef hamburger meat, could you not sell that one pound of hamburger meat for $75? Then you're just donating the deer meat to them.

I'd like to watch you try and explain that one to a Game Warden. Or a JP.

yeah...me too

You might try it and be our guinea pig. What I would be more concerned about is you giving them the deer to make tamales.... they give you some back for free then they sell the rest.

Man, I’ve given away a lot of deer in my life and have never used a resource tag lol.

well...they wont sell them. He brings them to our work and gives them away at lunch. Someone else gave him a deer last year is how I learned of this

If you are giving another person a whole deer or a hind quarter, shoulder or ribs, you must have a wildlife resource document filled out and given to that person. But, if your deer is processed and packaged (like a one pound package of deer hamburger) and its frozen and taken from your residence (just one package), then you would not need a wildlife resource document. BUT, if you would take several packages of newly processed meat, then I would take a wildlife resource document.

If you made a receipt, how can they dispute it?

How are you going to explain the $75/pound hamburger meat on the invoice to the GW or JP.

Sir that's the market price from my cattle.

Then what will say when the JP is a country rancher and he asks you..."why did not sell him more than one pound at that price and show me other invoices with that price"?

I am a man of the people and don't want to rip off the common man.

"Still want you to show me the invoices of past sales at $75/pound."

First customer sir.

Just fill out the wildlife resource document. No different than giving it away to anyone else. So what if they want to give a little finished product to you in return. That is a completely different deal.

Do you have a published price list I can see sir?

This is what I would do. I would just make sure if I gave them a deer today that they did not hand me a few dozen tamales today also. That may be a part the GW might have an issue with if he was in a bad mood that day.

Surely game wardens have more pressing issues to tend to than hawk feathers and tamales.

I would hope so

I don’t see why not? Well you would be fined for not having the proper Food Handlers License, and prolly get fined for not having a sanitation and cleanliness policies and procedures, then there is gonna be a fine for not maintaining carcass numbers and a grind log. Oh I almost forgot about Country of Origin labeling. That pound of hamburger could get expensive.

Here's what I know.....there are enough laws on the books, particularly game laws, that you are always in violation of something.

It just depends on how hard the officer wants to look.

After watching lone star law... im not always sure.

I don't see how it would be a problem if you gave him the deer and PAID him to make you deer tamales. That is no different than taking it to a processor. OH WAIT - they're "licensed processors" - state has to make sure to get their cut in license fees and taxes.

That’s the very definition of bartering. An exchange of goods or services.

Your kinda blowing my idea of letting one of these great sausage makers on this forum come out and blast a few doe and give me some sausage in return!!!

Good golly Molly! Much ado about nothing. Give the guy the meat. Enjoy the tamales.

If a person got into trouble for trading some deer meat for some tamales without some type of permit then whoever fined them had way too much free time on their hands and should have been after some real law breakers. What is the world coming too?

times have changed ... I remember an old Mexican lady in my home town that would barter tamales on the halves for deer and feral hogs (she would also for domestic hogs and beef too). They were some really good tamales too.

fill out the form and you are good to go ... same if someone else will be transporting your deer to the processor

I got it - I am all over the form. Thanks all. And for the record - I will walk right past any feathers of protected species

Tamales maybe, but hawk feathers? Not so much. I saw the show too, she got a warning.

Worthless thread after the first few responses

Yep and 2 pages worth.

Yes sir, this.

I am about to donate 4lbs of venison to a family in need. If I am breaking the state law, so be it. I am personally answering to a higher law at this time.

Interesting. A local processor in Hoedessa for many many yrs advertised he had unclaimed venison in the Thrifty Nickel. You only had to pay for the "processing fee". Not sure how he was able to get away with that.

My understanding is they are allowed to do that.

They used to be, but my processor told me last year that they can't do it anymore. They are expected to take the loss on unclaimed meat.

Isn't that the truth.