State officials are asking hunters to provide samples of wild deer they kill to check for chronic wasting disease.
The San Antonio Express-News reports wildlife officials hope to screen the brain stems and lymph nodes of 8,000 wild deer this season by means of roadside checkpoints set up around the state to collect samples.
The neurological disorder, which is fatal to deer, has prompted tight monitoring at breeding ranches and a mass euthanasia at one ranch where the disease was found.
The disease is believed spread through deer urine, saliva and feces. It was first detected in the state in 2012 in free-ranging mule deer in West Texas. Last summer was the first time it was found in the state's white-tailed deer population.
Copyright AP - Associated Press
