Hoof Rot still a problem in SW units

[videorc]

I was out scouting this weekend in unit 530 and observed 3 Rosy bulls with Hoof Rot. The video got cut short on the upload you can just see the last Bull as the video ends. The last 2 years Ive seen allot of Elk with this problem mainly in the lower valleys. Anyone know if the WDFW is investigating?

http://youtu.be/lpjjLslaBhM

[WSU]

Your video is private....

[pianoman9701]

I was out scouting this weekend in unit 530 and observed 3 Rosy bulls with Hoof Rot. The video got cut short on the upload you can just see the last Bull as the video ends. The last 2 years Ive seen allot of Elk with this problem mainly in the lower valleys. Anyone know if the WDFW is investigating?

http://youtu.be/lpjjLslaBhM

They are and you should do some reporting with coordinates. Thanks!

[meathacker]

Its is still a major problem and i think its getting worse.  WDFWs idea to fix it is to give out more tags.  Its bs.  if you dont get rid of all of it it is going to continue to spread.  here is a vid from winston creekthat a good buddy of mine took.  Every animal in this herd has it.  Hoof Rot Elk Herd

I also sent it to King 5 and they did a story on it
http://www.king5.com/news/environment/Elk-hoof-disease-threaten-Mount-St-Helens-herd-159258065.html

I also sent it to RMEF and they have approved some funding.  In the next few weeks the Sate Vet is going to be coming to take a look.  It seems that people are starting to pay attention.  Hopefully something will be done.  I fear what the future holds for the elk in western washington

[pianoman9701]

Although WDFW doesn't always make the most intelligent decisions, especially regarding predator issues, I'm not sure that they're not working very hard on the hoof rot issue from a scientific perspective. What is your alternative? RMEF can't do anything in this state without working with them.

I'd call the Region 5 office and ask for the bio for that area. Their number is 360 696-6211. I wouldn't go about it with a chip on your shoulder and a lot of assumptions about what you think they're doing or not doing. Just my 

[meathacker]

I know that they are working on it.  its just going alot slower than i would like to see.  it been a know issue for years now and they still dont even know what strain of hoof rot it is.  Im sure they are getting closer and i know they are working on it.  Ill dig some more info that i got from them

[meathacker]

here is a response that i got asking what was beeing done.  she did send a couple of attachments with some more info.  im trying to figure out how to post them

Dear Mr. Christensen,

 

First, I want to apologize for the fact that you did not receive a response to your email 3 weeks ago. As seen below, I was asked to respond on the same day that you sent it, but due to miscommunication and assumptions within our agency, my response did not get forwarded to you. Often when I am asked to draft responses to wildlife health inquiries from constituents, the recipient of the initial email (be it the Director’s Office, Commission, or individual Wildlife Manager) is the one who takes the information I’ve provided and sends the response back to the constituent. For some reason, that didn’t happen in this case, and again, I apologize for that.

 

As an update, we have narrowed down the time and place for the referenced workshop (next month at WSU), and are daily working on workshop planning, sample collection and submission, and study design development. Hopefully the information below and the attached documents answer some of your questions.

 

Thank you for your patience, and lease feel free to contact me directly if you would like to discuss this further.

 

Kristin Mansfield DVM

 

**********************************

Kristin Mansfield DVM, MPVM

State Wildlife Veterinarian

Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife

2315 N. Discovery Place

Spokane Valley, WA  99216

[elkhuntingcouple]

God this just makes me want to cry, you know they will do nothing, they don't care if they suffer, I heard that they could give them minerals, and copper and it would help, I would think they could do something to help them out.
The meat is still good from what I understand from farmers, and vet's they said the meat is still good to eat and you wont know the differance.
Wish I hadn't watched that. Just not right for such beautiful animals to be so sick because of something we brought to them. Im sure it started at a farm, dairy or such, since their animals are vacinated and can't get it, they can still carry it just like a cold.

[hirshey]

Out of ours and our friend's hunting parties this last season, 5 out of 7 animals harvested in the Winston Creek, Ryderwood, Stella and Mossyrock units had hoof rot... one so bad it was missing its entire rear hoof. The hoof rot was spread between all units. Pretty sad. Previous seasons also showed about 50% of the animals harvested with hoof rot, too, by our estimation.

[hirshey]

Eyeguard and I wrote letters to Ware this winter... in summation, we stated that prudence dictates decreasing the number of tags until the impact hoof rot has on the population is fully understood. Seems like hunter success in our units has certainly decreased despite the animals being slower.. 

[Bob33]

Sometimes, a medical condition that seems simple to address isn't. Billions have been spent on finding a cure for cancer.  Is there no cure yet because people don't care?

There is little doubt in my mind that WDFW is aware of the hoof rot situation, and is not ignoring it. If they had unlimited resources perhaps a solution would be found more quickly.  They don't.  Let's all hope that something can be done soon.

[elkhuntingcouple]

I don't have much faith in our Government, Just don't see them doing much of anything about it, the wolfs, and the hoof rot we might not have a lot of good hunting in WA State pretty soon.

Sad but I think this is true, so good luck everyone for this year, hopefully we all get one that is hurt. Better in my freezer than rotting out in the wilderness

[Bob33]

You can read more here: http://wdfw.wa.gov/publications/01124/wdfw01124.pdf

[elkhuntingcouple]

So after reading this it says that our elk are GROSSLY DEPLEATED of Copper and SELENIUM  why do n't they at least put out thousands of mineral blocks with high doeses of this in it. In Our general area we do not have to worry about sheet or goats. So what are they waiting for another 5 year study while doing nothing.
Dont Figure,  I'm sure they will hire someone to do a study on the study, Just like our deer, you can drive for days and not see any deer in the woods, the skin desease killed the majority of them. But the people at WFWD still get paid the same.  Hundreds of Elk starved to death by Mt St Helens but yep the people got the same wage for not protecting what they are being paid to protect and preserve.

Sorry this is a sour subject to me. Just no reason not to try, fiddle your thumbs, There is always somethign to try and help out with.

[videorc]

Thanks for all the info I will contact WDFW with info and see what can be done as sportsman on our own. Maybe some kind of grass roots campaign can be started. Some of the reporting Ive done in the past has seemed to fall on deaf ears but I will continue to try.