It’s been a busy start to the year for Washington State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine. In January, construction of the new elk research facility on the Pullman campus wrapped up, and in February the first elk were moved in.

WSU’s Dr. Margaret Anne Wild says the new facility will greatly help them as the research Elk Hoof Disease. The disease first reported in southwestern Washington a few years ago has spread across the entire northwest, creating problems for several elk herds. Now, researchers can dig into many of the largest unanswered questions.


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Photo: Henry Moore Jr. BCU/WSU

“Sometimes it almost seems like the more you learn, the more questions you have, when you’re in the early stages of an investigation.  We learn one thing and we come up with three more questions, just because so little work has been done on this disease.”

One question that remains, can Elk Hoof Disease be transferred from wildlife to domesticated animals, such as beef and dairy cows. Dr. Wild said the fact that they can now control the elk’s environment is a game changer.

“And learn about progression of the disease, transmission of the disease, ultimately what we may be able to do to make elk less susceptible to it or be able to mitigate the effects that we can do that much more readily with these elk in captivity then we can when they are free ranging.”




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