Tex. Parks and Wildlife Code § 61.021
This is the official text of Tex. Parks and Wildlife Code § 61.021, part of Texas’s Parks and Wildlife Code — governs state parks, hunting, and fishing.
Not legal advice. This page reproduces the official text of a government statute for reference only. Laws change, and how a statute applies depends on your specific facts. For advice about your situation, consult a licensed attorney in your state.
§ 61.021. TAKING WILDLIFE RESOURCES PROHIBITED.
Official statutory text
(a) Except as provided by Subsection (b) or permitted under a proclamation issued by the commission under this chapter, no person may hunt, catch, or possess a game bird or game animal, fish, marine animal, or other aquatic life at any time or in any place covered by this chapter.
(b) A documented member of the Kickapoo Traditional Tribe of Texas who holds a license under Section 42.002 may hunt antlerless white-tailed deer for religious ceremonial purposes on any day of the year between one-half hour before sunrise and one-half hour after sunset. A documented member of the Kickapoo Traditional Tribe of Texas hunting antlerless white-tailed deer under this subsection:
(1) shall comply with all other provisions of this code and proclamations adopted under this code;
(2) shall notify:
(A) a local game warden at least 24 hours before hunting antlerless white-tailed deer at a time of the year when a person who holds a license under Section 42.002 but who is not a documented member of the Kickapoo Traditional Tribe of Texas may not hunt antlerless white-tailed deer; and
(B) the department not later than September 1 of each year of the member's intent to hunt antlerless white-tailed deer for the following calendar year;
(3) may not hunt antlerless white-tailed deer outside an open hunting season in a chronic wasting disease containment or surveillance zone, as determined by the department; and
(4) may not receive a pecuniary gain from an action taken under this subsection.
(c) Subsection (b) applies only to hunting on land that is:
(1) owned or leased by the Kickapoo Traditional Tribe of Texas; and
(2) located in a county that:
(A) borders the United Mexican States and has a population of more than 50,000 but less than 70,000; or
(B) is adjacent to a county described by Paragraph (A) and has a population of less than 8,000.
(b) A documented member of the Kickapoo Traditional Tribe of Texas who holds a license under Section 42.002 may hunt antlerless white-tailed deer for religious ceremonial purposes on any day of the year between one-half hour before sunrise and one-half hour after sunset. A documented member of the Kickapoo Traditional Tribe of Texas hunting antlerless white-tailed deer under this subsection:
(1) shall comply with all other provisions of this code and proclamations adopted under this code;
(2) shall notify:
(A) a local game warden at least 24 hours before hunting antlerless white-tailed deer at a time of the year when a person who holds a license under Section 42.002 but who is not a documented member of the Kickapoo Traditional Tribe of Texas may not hunt antlerless white-tailed deer; and
(B) the department not later than September 1 of each year of the member's intent to hunt antlerless white-tailed deer for the following calendar year;
(3) may not hunt antlerless white-tailed deer outside an open hunting season in a chronic wasting disease containment or surveillance zone, as determined by the department; and
(4) may not receive a pecuniary gain from an action taken under this subsection.
(c) Subsection (b) applies only to hunting on land that is:
(1) owned or leased by the Kickapoo Traditional Tribe of Texas; and
(2) located in a county that:
(A) borders the United Mexican States and has a population of more than 50,000 but less than 70,000; or
(B) is adjacent to a county described by Paragraph (A) and has a population of less than 8,000.
Status: in_force · Read it on the official government site
Need a lawyer in Texas?
Find a Texas lawyer
About this page: Statute text is reproduced from official government publishers via the
Open US Law dataset
(Vaquill AI, snapshot v2026.08, CC BY 4.0). Primary legislative text like this is public domain under the government-edicts doctrine
(Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 2020). We link every section back to its official source so you can verify it independently.