TEXAS GAME WARDENS

The crime is a Class B misdemeanor.

State officials declined to name the restaurant because it's now part of the criminal probe.

Texas Game Wardens discovered a massive amount of shark fins at a San Antonio seafood establishment on Wednesday.

Here's your cute story for the day.

Texas Game Wardens are accepting applications for summer internships across the state. “This is a great opportunity for individuals who are curious about conservation law enforcement and interested in a higher level of community engagement,” said Lt. Rachel Kellner, Texas Game Warden program coordinator. “We provide college students with a realistic view of a game warden’s day-to-day activities including time spent on patrol.”While an internship is not necessary to become a Texas Game Warden, Kellner said the experience can be a helpful first step. The application, eligibility requirements, specific locations, compensation and additional information can be found by clicking on Game Warden at the top of the TPWD website. Interested applicants seeking more information can contact Texas Game Warden Recruiter Chelsea Bailey at 361-571-9877.

The reptile was 3 feet long.

Multiple arrests were made in the two-year investigation.

In Austin, it's illegal to hunt within city limits.

It could take up to a month for removal.

Alligators have been spotted in the area over the years.

He also illegally possessed a small alligator snapping turtle.

The dead pronghorns were found without skulls and horns.

Texas Game Wardens made 13 arrests and wrote 781 citations and warnings over the Labor Day weekend, officials say. “We had 354 Texas Game Wardens on patrol and they made contact with at least 3,770 vessels on the water, confirming everyone aboard was equipped with life vests, children were supervised, and boats followed state law,” Jones added. The increased patrols were partnered with boater education outreach programs, and TPWD officials said it helped deliver a 43-percent decrease in boating-related accidents and a 50-percent decrease in open water drownings compared to last year. “For me, the numbers are an indicator that what we are doing is working,” Jones said. “Continuing to partner in communities across Texas, educating boaters while also supporting our wardens in the field with state-of-the-art equipment, new technology and sophisticated training, all pushes us to our goal of zero fatalities and zero boating accidents.”[email protected]

The turtles were being poached in Texas and transported into Louisiana, which is...

Fourth of July weekend kept Texas Game Wardens busy.

Texas Game Wardens and U.S. Coast Guard personnel are teaming up for the July Fourth weekend for Operation Dry Water, monitoring boaters for violating under-the-influence laws with enhanced enforcement.

Boating incidents surpassed 2020 numbers.

The guidance comes at a critical moment: in 2020, boating accidents were at a 30-year all-time high. Fatalities on Texas waterways increased 45 percent in 2020 from 2019, while fatal accidents on the water rose by 61 percent. More than 70 percent of boating accidents that occurred in 2020 were on open motorboats or personal watercraft. Overall, in 2020, 55 boating fatalities and multiple boat accidents and injuries occurred on Texas waters. Accidents on the water can happen quickly leaving insufficient time to put on a life jacket when most needed.

The sea turtles are just as cold as we are. On Tuesday, Texas Game Wardens posted on its Facebook page that officers rescued 141 cold-stunned sea turtles from the frigid waters of the Brownsville Ship Channel and surrounding bays. Wardens transported the sea turtles to rehabilitation facilities to recover and will be released back into the wild when the weather warms up. Animal Rehabilitation Keep (ARK) at UT Marine Science Institute also posted on Facebook Tuesday, writing that its department has received close to 200 cold-stunned sea turtles in the past two days. According to the National Park Service, the sea turtles float up to the surface and leaving them vulnerable to boat strikes.

In nearly two months, the Texas Game Wardens have released information about finding spoiled deer carcasses at three processing facilities – two in North Texas and one in Poteet just south of San Antonio in Atascosa County, which a warden said is "very rare." "Fifteen years on and I've never had anything like this," David Nieto, Texas Game Warden for the San Antonio district, said. Upon inspection, officials found several deer carcasses lying in a pile at the bottom of a walk-in cooler. Officials also busted a North Texas facility on Dec. 18 after finding 22 deer carcasses unfit for human consumption. A couple of weeks later, on Jan. 16, wardens busted a second North Texas facility for having 80 spoiled white-tailed deer carcasses.

2 1 of 2 Keith Szafranski /Getty Images / iStockphoto Show More Show Less 2 of 2 Texas Game Wardens Show More Show LessWhat is going on with meat processing facilities in North Texas? Texas Game Wardens posted about another meat processing bust where they found 22 deer unfit for human consumption on its Facebook page Friday. The wardens found the spoiled meat on Dec. 18 during a routine inspection at Backyard Taxidermy and Deer Processing in Decatur, which is a city about 40 miles north of Forth Worth.

On Saturday, Texas Game Wardens found 80 white-tailed deer carcasses unfit for human consumption in coolers at a meat processing facility in Wichita County, along the Texas-Oklahoma border. Wardens discovered the spoiled deer during a routine compliance inspection at Hooves and Horns meat processing facility in Iowa Park, according to a Tuesday news release from Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. Wardens sealed and locked the coolers and instructed the owner to not allow any meat to leave the facility. Along with the unfit deer carcasses, wardens disposed of 13 lugs of trimmed venison and three 120-quart ice chests of deer quarters. Anyone with deer at this facility that has not received their order and is seeking a refund should contact Hooves and Horns meat processing facility at 940-631-4020.

STARR COUNTY, Texas – A 5-year-old boy was rescued after getting stuck in a well on a ranch in South Texas, according to the Texas Game Wardens. The incident happened Dec. 8 in Starr County. On Dec. 8th, Starr County dispatch received a 911 call about a child who had fallen into a well on a ranch. Multiple law... Posted by Texas Game Wardens on Thursday, December 10, 2020He was rescued around 10:30 p.m. and had no visible injuries. As of Thursday afternoon, officials said the boy is still hospitalized but in stable condition.

UPSHUR COUNTY, Texas – Texas Game Wardens seized 350 crappie fish fillets that were confiscated from fishermen at Lake O’ the Pines in Upshur County. According to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, game wardens received an anonymous tip about a substantial amount of fish that had been cleaned and dumped at the lake. TPW officials found two fishermen who were in the possession of 350 crappie fish fillets. Officials say the fishermen were well over the state legal possession limit of crappie fish, which is 25 per person. The department said the fish fillets were seized and donated to multiple families around the area.

ANGELINA COUNTY, Texas – Texas Game Wardens were tipped off to an illegal killing of a whitetail deer over social media after an Angelina County teenager bragged about the dead buck online, the department said in a statement to KSAT. According to officials, an Angelina County game warden received a report about a large buck killed in southern Angelina County known to frequent a hayfield at night near a county road. pic.twitter.com/z4iI7CMIWh — Texas Game Warden (@TexasGameWarden) October 24, 2020The department said the game warden patrolled the area and found marks on the ground where the buck was dragged from the hayfield to the road. Another game warden, also an avid bow hunter, was called in for a second opinion to help determine the means by which the deer was killed, officials said. According to Texas' hunting regulations, Angelina County is one of 252 counties in the state with an “archery-only” season for hunting whitetail deer.

Several Texas and Louisiana state parks remain closed in the wake of Hurricane Laura which made landfall Thursday morning. According to officials with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, state parks along the Texas coast and Louisiana border were closed Tuesday ahead of Hurricane Lauras arrival. Several state parks in Louisiana were also closed this week due to Hurricane Laura. pic.twitter.com/pOXHLZNhzt Texas Game Warden (@TexasGameWarden) August 27, 2020The Texas parks that are currently closed due to Hurricane Laura are:Atlanta State ParkBattleship Texas State Historic SiteBrazos Bend State ParkCaddo Lake State ParkGalveston Island State ParkLake Livingston State ParkMartin Creek Lake State ParkMartin Dies, Jr. State ParkSea Rim State ParkSheldon Lake State ParkVillage Creek State ParkFor a full list of state park closures and updates on openings, click here. The Louisiana state parks Instagram page earlier this week announced the closure of:Bistineau State ParkCypremort Point State ParkFairview-Riverside State ParkGrand Isle State ParkNorth Toledo Bend State ParkPalmetto Island State ParkSt. Bernard State ParkSam Houston Jones State ParkSouth Toledo Bend State ParkHurricane Laura made landfall at close to 1 a.m. Thursday morning near Cameron, Louisiana as an extremely dangerous Category 4 Hurricane with sustained winds of 150 mph and gusts up to 185 mph.

A Texas Game Warden K9 named Ruger officially retired from service this week after 7 years on the job. According to a Facebook post from the Texas Game Wardens page, Ruger assisted the public and law enforcement community with several narcotic seizures, article evidence recoveries, natural disaster response, criminal tracks, and search and rescues of missing persons.Ruger is certified in police search and rescue, evidence article recovery, tracking, collapsed building searches and narcotics and served with his partner, Texas Game Warden Captain Christy Vales. High-tech Texas Game Warden gear funded by donationsRuger was a natural at putting on demonstrations and loved hearing the crowd clap for him when he located an article or a kind volunteer hiding in the woods, the post reads in part. He is set to enjoy a relaxing retirement with Vales and her family. See photos of the good boy in the Facebook post below:

Texas - Texas Game Wardens posted photos and video to social media of some of the high-water rescues wardens conducted Thursday. Houston freeway closed at San Jacinto River after barges hit bridgeSee photos and video from Texas Game Wardens below:Texas Game Wardens continue to work in and around the Beaumont area, in coordination with state and local partners. #txwx #imelda pic.twitter.com/kI0dQfPRvV Texas Game Warden (@TexasGameWarden) September 19, 2019Your Texas Game Warden Search and Rescue team today near New Waverly. #txwx #imelda pic.twitter.com/2ngrncz65b Texas Game Warden (@TexasGameWarden) September 19, 2019Here are scenes from search-and-rescue operations today around Beaumont. #txwx #Imelda pic.twitter.com/JbXv9cUIel Texas Game Warden (@TexasGameWarden) September 19, 2019A brave young girl is carried through flood waters by @TexasGameWarden as search-and-rescue operations continue.#txwx #Imelda pic.twitter.com/wtISDltzj2 TX Parks & Wildlife (@TPWDnews) September 19, 2019Your Texas Game Warden, along with State Park Peace Officers, in rescues in and around the New Waverley area during the aftermath of #Imelda #TXWX pic.twitter.com/Fm2GFW25Ma Texas Game Warden (@TexasGameWarden) September 19, 2019Copyright 2019 by KSAT - All rights reserved.

SOUTH PADRE ISLAND, Texas - People were found catching, killing and filleting endangered green sea turtles Saturday near South Padre Island's East Cut, according to Texas Game Wardens. Cameron County Game Wardens received a tip via Operation Game Thief about the killings and went to investigate. The wardens stopped a suspect vehicle and found two sea turtle shells during a search, according to a Facebook post. An investigation revealed a plastic bag full of turtle meat in the sand dunes, including two sets of turtle hind and fore flippers and additional sea turtle shells. A dramatic reduction in wildlife crimes has been attributed to Operation Game Thief since its creation in 1981.