WSU Receives $100K To Study Elk Hoof Disease

Last week, the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation awarded Washington State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine a $100,000 grant to assist with construction of its elk hoof disease research facility.  Construction began in May on the Pullman campus.

WSU’s Dr. Margaret Ann Wild says she is eager to start research on captive elk that will be housed in the facility.

“We don’t know exactly how it spreads right now, but it appears that it spreads either in contaminated environment, or through animal to animal contact.  And so animals moving could likely spread the disease however humans may be spreading this disease as well.”

WSU’s $1.2 million, state-of-the-art structure is the only such operation of its kind in the world and will house captive elk needed to study the disease in a secure, controlled environment.  It will cover four acres and include ten isolation pens, a handling facility and two 1.5-acre holding pastures.

Listen to our podcast with Dr. Wild to learn more about Elk Hoof Disease and the research taking place at WSU: