*Update as of 7/13/26 at 8:00am:

For a complete and up-to-date list of counties that WRR is not allowed to take animals from, without prior inspection and authorization, please visit this link.

Please note WRR’s Lead Veterinarian, Dr. Jessica Khodadad, is certified to perform inspections on animals from restricted zones.

If you have a white-tail deer who needs help, you must talk to a WRR Hotline Specialist (830-336-2725) before bringing them in for care as there are certain Texas Parks and Wildlife rules we are required to follow, and we are not able to take in all white-tail deer.

This message is to let you know that because of a quarantine order put in place by Texas Animal Health Commission (TAHC), WRR is not able to take in any warm-blooded animals from the following counties without prior authorization from TAHC: Gillespie, Kerr, Kimble, La Salle, Uvalde, Webb, Zavala. This quarantine order was put in place by TAHC due to concerns with New World Screwworms and is something WRR is required to follow.

Warm-blooded animals include: Deer (axis and white-tail), rabbits, pigs, foxes, opossums, raccoons, skunks, mice, rats, squirrels, and all birds (including ducks and geese).

This does not change our ability to take in the following species as they are “cold-blooded” animals: turtles, tortoises, snakes, and lizards.

This is a rapidly developing situation, and the quarantined counties may continue to change. We will keep this page on our website updated with any further restrictions we are legally bound by regarding animal intake.

As you can imagine, this changes operations at WRR and means that there will be animals who need help that we cannot take into our care because they are coming from restricted counties. Our staff will work tirelessly to ensure that any animals from the temporary restricted zones are given as much care as possible, without physically being brought to WRR.

Some of the restricted counties which have local permitted wildlife rehabilitators available. These individuals may be able to help if you find an animal in a restricted county. The list of counties with such permitted wildlife rehabilitators can be found here: https://tpwd.texas.gov/huntwild/wild/rehab/list/ For the counties that do not have permitted wildlife rehabilitators like Kimble, La Salle, Webb, and Zavala, any critically injured animals should be taken to an emergency vet within that county immediately.

As of now (2:00pm on 6/10/26), we are still able to take in animals from all counties except the ones listed above. For the most up to date list of restricted counties please visit this link: https://www.tahc.texas.gov/emergency/nws.html

While no animals at WRR are affected, we know that while this is a serious parasite, conditions can be healed if treated promptly, and we are hoping this fact will move the state to allow WRR to continue helping certain wildlife species.

Please email us at info@wildlife-rescue.org if you have any questions.