Deer semen donations among campaign contributions to South Texas candidate

[TexasTowelie]

"I gave at the office."


AUSTIN — Many political candidates accept political gifts like food for events or legal advice for their campaigns, but one candidate from South Texas reported receiving thousands of dollars worth of deer semen.

Ana Lisa Garza, a district court judge in Starr County, reported accepting at least 40 semen straws, doses valued at $51,000. According to a report filed with the Texas Ethics Commission, several of the in-kind donations were made as part of a Feb. 10 auction event.

Although deer have been bred for over a century, interest has spiked in recent decades, in part due to interest in a buck named Patrick that was kept as a pet in the Midwest and grew large and unique antlers in the 1980s.

The practice has since grown into a budding industry in Texas. The deer, with their attractive racks, are now largely used for hunting, venison or further breeding.

Read more: https://www.chron.com/news/politics/texas/article/Deer-semen-among-campaign-contributions-to-South-12717880.php