It's time to break out the blaze orange – white-tailed deer general season is underway and the forecast looks good.
Texas' whitetail population is estimated at 5 million, making it the largest in the country. In areas with high deer populations, like the Edwards Plateau and Cross Timbers Region, you are encouraged to utilize your antlerless tags to help manage the population.
Refer to the Outdoor Annual for all your whitetail regulations, including statewide bag limits, specific county limits and antler restrictions. Download the free Texas Hunt & Fish app, a handy tool for digital tagging, reporting your harvest and locating voluntary CWD check stations. You can also report your harvest online.
Find out more about whitetails in Texas with our new resource White-tailed Deer Management. For tips on using your ingenuity instead of your wallet to deer hunt, check out the Texas Parks & Wildlife magazine story Yes, You Can Harvest a Buck on a Budget.
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NEW for the 2025-26 Season:
New World Screwworm: If you observe a LIVE animal infested with maggots, quickly report the observation to a local TPWD biologist. Through active surveillance, hunters can help protect Texas' wildlife and livestock from this pest.
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At times it can be hard to tell exactly what you're firing at – in which case you should not take the shot. There are a number of birds that are protected by law, including some doves and other migratory birds, like whooping cranes.
Whooping cranes are endangered and can be confused with other birds. Learn to tell the difference by looking over our tips to I.D. whooping cranes and watching our video Be Sure Before You Shoot.
If in doubt, do not take the shot! If you accidentally take any protected animal, immediately contact the county's Texas game warden to explain your mistake. How to I.D. protected birds is taught in Hunter Education. Everyone born after Sept. 1, 1971 must have Hunter Ed certification, and be able to provide proof of it while in the field. Check online to confirm you're certified.
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If you see LIVE animals with maggots, report it to your local TPWD wildlife biologist as soon as possible. It may be infested with New World screwworm (NWS).
NWS are flies that lay eggs in open wounds or moist body parts of live warm-blooded animals. The eggs hatch into larvae (maggots) that only feed on living tissue. Infested wounds quickly become infected, and, if left untreated, will kill infested animals.
Early detection is key. Your reporting is crucial for effective management actions in the battle to eliminate NWS.
If you encounter a black bear in the field, stay away from it and keep any dogs secured. Black bears are a protected species in Texas and unlikely to pose a threat to humans.
If you're hog hunting, be sure before you shoot – a black bear can look like a hog in some conditions.
For more tips on hunting in bear country, including protecting deer feeders and avoiding attracting bears to your camp, check out Bear Safety.
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You can now text Operation Game Thief (OGT) to submit anonymous tips about wildlife crime. You can also use the free app, call, or go online to report wildlife violations:
Learn how to submit anonymous tips, and add the text and call numbers to your contacts now, so you'll have them when you need them.
Contact us immediately if you see a wildlife crime in progress. OGT is Texas' Wildlife Crime-Stoppers Program, offering rewards of up to $1,000 for information leading to the conviction of a wildlife crime.
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