Pictures of gnarly elk hooves show danger of new disease spreading in the west
Reports of elk with broken, deformed or missing hooves are increasing in the Western states this spring, includingCalifornia’s firstcase of “elk hoof disease,” according to the Associated Press.
Washington state officials confirmed the most recent case of the disease was found in a herd in Yakima County, YakTriNews.com reported.
“For many years, we’ve been surveying for hoof disease in the Yakima area, but we have never had a case of a limping or lame elk associated with hoof disease,” Kyle Garrison, an ungulate specialist with Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife said in news release.
“The case, confirmed by Washington State University, was an early grade lesion and probably wouldn’t have affected the animal’s gait initially,” Garrison said.
Washington officials first recorded cases of the disease in 2008, but just this month California Department of Fish and Wildlife reported the state’s first case of elk hoof disease, AP reported. Two Roosevelt elk were confirmed to have the disease in Del Norte County, according to AP.
Other cases of the disease have also been confirmed in southwestern Washington, Idaho and Oregon, according to Washington State University.
The disease is known as a crippling affliction where an animal’s hooves become deformed to the point where it struggles to walk and in some cases, becomes lame and dies, AP reported.
Researchers say scientific investigations revealed the disease — officially known as treponeme-associated hoof disease — is caused by a spiral-shaped bacteria called “Treponemes” along with other factors like the animal’s health and nutrition, its environment and other infectious diseases, according to the WSU Department of Veterinary Microbiology and Pathology.
A similar disease caused by the same type of bacteria has been found in cattle, sheep and goats, although the disease wasn’t known to infect hooved wildlife until recently, WDFW says.
The disease is highly infectious among elk, AP reports.
There is no vaccine to prevent elk hoof disease and no proven field treatment, according to the WDFW news release. The agency also reports that there is no evidence that elk hoof disease affects humans.
Researchers at WSU have not found any evidence showing an elk’s meat is impacted by the disease. But because the bacteria may make elk susceptible to other diseases, hunters should always evaluate the meat before eating it, according to WSU.
Hunters are required to remove the hooves off an elk found in an infected area and leave them on site, WDFW says. Hunters should also report any sightings of elk that are limping or dead with hoof deformities on WDFW’s website, according to WDFW.
A main concern for researchers is whether the disease can be passed from wildlife to livestock.
“We’re going to increase our surveillance, continue our cooperation with WSU’s College of Veterinary Medicine, and we’re also asking eastern Washington hunters and recreationists to keep an eye out for limping elk or elk with hoof deformities,” Garrison said in the release.
This story was originally published May 11, 2020 at 2:16 PM with the headline "Pictures of gnarly elk hooves show danger of new disease spreading in the west."