TPWD citation

Cutting to the chase ...how much does a citation for not tagging a deer as soon as killed cost?? In texas

Going to be up to the Judge.

Not certain where the citation falls. I hope no one got a ticket.

Penalties
If you violate fish and wildlife laws, you may:
be fined for misdemeanors
Class C - $25-$500
Class B - $200-$2,000 and/or 6 months in jail
Class A - $500-$4,000 and/or 1 year in jail;
be fined for state jail felonies ($1,500-$10,000 and/or up to 2 years in jail);
face automatic suspension or revocation of licenses for up to five years; and
forfeit hunting gear, including firearms, used to commit a violation.

Up to 500.00. If it was hanging in camp or heading there, maybe not so much. If it was on a public road heading home like it was never going be tagged, probably on the higher end.

In camp...haven't hinted non MLD lands in a long time...and didn't tag as soon as it hit the ground...my fault..but was cleaning the deer when law.pulled up..

Not knowing you, as the Game Warden probably didn't, I'd assume you weren't gonna tag it. Maybe you were but not a good appearance.

Your experience and post brings up several good questions for those who have never been in this situation. What should be my next steps after being cited in an effort to get the fine reduced? If I know I'm guilty, can I just go see the JP whenever he/she is in their office and explain the situation in an effort to get a lesser fine? Would I get the same result if I just called the judge's office and spoke with them. If I feel I'm not guilty, do I call the JP's office and request a court date? If I decided to do neither, do I have to call the judge's office to learn what they fine will be or just wait for a notice to arrive in the mail?

Would a side by side ATV used to travel to the blind be considered "hunting gear"?

Of course.

Saw a guy getting a ticket like this, plus waste of game animal as he left it laying, then got caught leaving... He had take pics with his bow, even though he used a rifle. While the game warden was writing tickets, guy was telling him "Your wasting your time" and "My brother is an attorney", and "You can't make me pay"....

The game warden discretely called for a wrecker. Impounded the guys new truck, rifle, bow, expensive camera set up, back pack, pop up blind, binoculars....so yeah, he showed up and plead guilty and paid. So he could get his truck back.

Had a GW show up at camp. We were setting around fixing dinner and having some drinks. One of the guys didn't have his tag on his deer, when the GW ask why he got mouthy with the GW, THE GUY WAS A LITTLE DRUNK. Anyways cost him $300, he did keep the deer meat. One of the other hunters didn't have his tag filled out correctly that cost him $100.

I'm curious-why would you not put a tag on your deer? They're included with your license. Just wondering.

I didn’t know so many people didn’t tag deer. It’s not hard.

When the green truck shows up better hope EVERYTHING is in order!

They get a short window to issue most their citations!

A friend just got one,,,,,,,,,265.00

Proactively reaching out to the JP may help you and it can't hurt. Hopefully, you don't have any previous Parks & Wildlife violations.

As it pertains to running your mouth to a game warden, that's just bad business. These dudes are well acquainted with people lying to them so there's that. If you mind your Ps and Qs and have everything in order, then you don't have to sweat having them drive up when you're in the field.

Sounds like you have an expensive lesson coming. Hope it doesn't hit too hard. Best of luck.

Well, there is the issue of not tagging, and the issue of having difficulty tagging. In my hunting bag, I include: fingernail scissors (to cut out the tag), reading glasses, several pens (including a sharpie), a extra flashlight, and a zip tie (to attach the tag). The sharpie pen really comes in handy, as the ball points don't always work in cold weather. If you are hunting as a guest, be sure to know the name of the ranch, and the county.

Remembering is the issue. We hunt exotics and hogs all year. We shoot and clean without a worry about tags. The first whitetail is often forgotten, sometimes it is already cleaned when we remember. Then we panic and run tag it. After that we are back into the routine.

If they didn’t confiscate it consider yourself fortunate.

Yup....be proactive. Go in and explain what happened and then pull out your wallet....good luck

Why not a warning on specific cases? Is every case a throw you in prison case, Barney fife type deal. A guy gutting a deer on a legit lease, with all factors showing he was not trying to hide anything; why not issue a warning?

I’ve gotten warnings and I’ve been cited....up to the officer

Yep, officer discretion. No doubt there are officers in all facets of LE who are just hard nosed and will issue citations for anything. However, to be fair I would have to say all of the stories we read online or hear have one thing in common - we're only getting one side of the story. You can be assured any spin that may be in the story will always lean toward the poster, it's just human nature.
*I'm not saying this is the case here, just a general observation.*

Always been my thought. The fact that you know you are going hunting, and may kill something is a good reminder to have the necessary thought process and items that you need to tag the animal. It takes the same two minutes in the field as it does in the camp to tag the animal, and the regulation is clearly spelled out in the Annual. This is one area I see no need for leniency as this has been the regulation for as long as I can remember.

A few years ago we had a guy put the wrong tag on a deer. Game warden gave him a warning.

I hunt my own land with locked gates. Still the first thing I do is tag my deer before I load it up. Its just part of deer hunting.

Totally my fault..I thought ( lake of not doing the research) as long as the animal was tagged before transportation
You where good..GW was very personable and had a trainee with him is why he probably cited instead of warning,
Could have but didnt confiscate the meat. GP is about 2 1/2 hrs away so I'm going to call Monday and keep everyone
posted...I'm going to throw my self at the mercy of the court, because I messed up.

Just playing devil's advocate here but when is it realistic for the game warden to assume you had no intention of tagging deer? On the way home from the lease? At the camp? On your way from the lease back to camp? While field dressing the animal? Sure, honest mistakes happen but if you tag the animal as soon as you get to it then the answer to any of my questions is, "It doesn't matter because the deer was properly tagged".

When a deer is down and not tagged.

It’s a class c ticket

Kinda like doing 5 over or not signaling your turn

You would often get a warning by a cop

No slack from the green trucks, which is the norm

Imagine had it of been a booner...

Common sense; it is pretty hard to find today. You can tell most people’s intent when you meet them.

Yes think about it. If that one were not enforced all hell would break loose. Every lowlife in the state would be “just about to tag him”.

If a street cop stopped you for not signaling...let’s say

He might as well cite you because for all he knows you weren’t gonna signal all week

Let’s say you were stopped for speeding 3 over

He might as well cite you because for all he knows, your intent was to run it up to 100 over

The green trucks get 3 months to cite 99 percent of their tickets

No slack, you don’t tag a doe “IMMEDIATELY”...ticket

Don’t tag a booner immediately, county jail

Y’all can suck up to the green trucks all you want, they’ll get you eventually

I’m not hiding anything and I don’t hunt illegally FWIW

The man himself admitted he messed up and isn’t whining about it.

I know NG, I just like pointing out what A Holes Game Wardens often are

And I like making people aware of their time frame to issue bs tickets

It’s my duty

I’ve killed 2 deer in 15 years and I don’t fish BTW

I have seen some A-hole GWs in my day, as my previous posts will attest.

But I have also seen a bunch of trespassers, poachers, over-limit shooters, etc. GWs have a job to do. And going around having coffee and giving verbal or written warnings all day is not the job description.

I have 200 acres and a GREAT neighbor.

I know it’s been poached at least twice, he caught them and called

I refuse to call the GW

They pissed me off more than once as a young man, treated me unfairly to be honest

They cut me no slack and as an older man i return the favor

Remember folks they get a few months to get them tickets turned into the Lt!

Seems like the only one you hurt there was yourself.


P.S. They can write tickets all year - they enforce fishing laws too.

I never forget getting screwed over

And they can write tickets all year...correct!

Better have the whistle and fire extinguisher folks if you’re fishing...it’s a big deal if you don’t!

Kinda like not signaling...

Sometimes I wait to tag my deer until I get to camp, just to maintain my outlaw/gangster status and live on the edge.

Thug life....

To the OP, you owned it and I respect that Sir.