More on Hoof Rot Disease

[Sitka_Blacktail]

https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2023/oct/19/study-elk-hoof-disease-found-in-washington-goes-be/

[fowl smacker]

https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2023/oct/19/study-elk-hoof-disease-found-in-washington-goes-be/

Nothing new there.  I was expecting to read they finally figured it out and the cause is a chemical deployed by a certain timber company.  Guess I'll keep waiting.

[HntnFsh]

https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2023/oct/19/study-elk-hoof-disease-found-in-washington-goes-be/

Nothing new there.  I was expecting to read they finally figured it out and the cause is a chemical deployed by a certain timber company.  Guess I'll keep waiting.

Too much money involved to come to that conclusion!

[Alchase]

What has it been almost 40 years, and still no definitive cause 

But But Grizzlies and Wolves they have figured out. 

[Humptulips]

I guess it has made its way to the lower Humptulips now. Working its way north. when it first showed up, they should have killed every elk in the area affected. Too late for that now. I'm not sure how you could cure a wild stock even if you knew how to treat it.

[Tinmaniac]

Virtually no reports of Hoof Rot in elk on Vancouver Island yet they spray the same chemicals on cuts as we do .

[duckmen1]

Virtually no reports of Hoof Rot in elk on Vancouver Island yet they spray the same chemicals on cuts as we do .

Yet one of the biggest reasons I have heard has been a contributing factor to hoof rot in Washington is the wet environment. Now if that is the case then…….. “Vancouver Island”……..

[Turkeyman]

Roosevelt have lived in wet country for years. It all started after slash burning.

[elkchaser54]

When it first started in the mt st Helen's herd they gave out tons of cow tags to cut the herd size down hoping it would stop transmission but now they just have less elk and still have limping. That didn't work at all .

[Bucks2Ducks]

Roosevelt have lived in wet country for years. It all started after slash burning.

Didn't they use to burn the whole clear cut?

[HntnFsh]

Roosevelt have lived in wet country for years. It all started after slash burning.

Didn't they use to burn the whole clear cut?

Yes!

[Turkeyman]

Yes

[rackattack]

Roosevelt have lived in wet country for years. It all started after slash burning.

Do you mean after they quit slash burning the clearcut and just use sprays now?

[Turkeyman]

Yes

[Lumpy Taters]

Saw hoof rot on elk in the Cathlamet area in the 90's.   Then Boisfort valley in the early 2000's then St Helen's area in the early 2010's.   The extra cow tags where there before the hoof rot and because of the hoof rot the numbers are pathetic.   They culled a large nber from the St Helen's area when it first showed and it did nothing to slow it down.    The new fancy mulit-million research facility has provided nothing more than a fancy name for the rot. 

[Browndawg]

I thought they gave out all the cow tags on St. Helens because they were starving in the winter because of over population. I think this was around 2005ish.

[elksnout]

I thought they gave out all the cow tags on St. Helens because they were starving in the winter because of over population. I think this was around 2005ish.

That my understanding as well. Made local news headlines big time with starving elk. Damn sad that was. Now look at what’s left…

elksnout

[BlackRiverLabradors]

They know it’s the chemicals affecting the elk and who knows what else. I’m sure there’s other issues we don’t even notice yet! Go back to controlled slash burns, Stop using the chemicals and thing’s hopefully will see an improvement! Maybe it needs to get voted on !🤷🏼‍♂️

[Bullkllr]

I thought they gave out all the cow tags on St. Helens because they were starving in the winter because of over population. I think this was around 2005ish.

That my understanding as well. Made local news headlines big time with starving elk. Damn sad that was. Now look at what’s left…

elksnout

I think there was some well-documented winter kill in the immediate Loowit/Mudflow area. That was not the case in the surrounding 4/5 GMUs where huge numbers of cow tags were issued.

[Lumpy Taters]

I don't remember the exact year it started but yes the extra cow tags was because they said there was too many elk in the st Helen's herd.    40 additional cow tags for every weapon type.   They did it for like 6 years.   

[HntnFsh]

From what I remember there were about 3500 cow tags given over about a 3 year period for WInston, Margaret, Mossyrock, possibly Coweeman and Toutle eyc.

[Tinmaniac]

The State hardly recognized hoof rot as an actual problem until 2014 or so.How long have they been giving an extra tag for taking a rotten elk ?2015 maybe?They didn't really allocate any funds until 2018 or so for research at WSU. Extra tags were never given out as a method of controlling the spread of hoof rot.It wasn't all that long ago that they were capturing St.Helens elk and transporting North helping to further spread the disease.

[kyle dillehay]

Do you think the meat is effected in any way by the hoof rot?

[Tinmaniac]

Do you think the meat is effected in any way by the hoof rot?

Most definitely.We quit hunting Westside because of it.I can't look at a group of limpers and say "yummy ".

[huntingfool7]

Do you think the meat is effected in any way by the hoof rot?

Yes.  It's called atrophy.  The muscle tissue in the affected limb is lighter colored, softer and shrunken from lack of use.

[pianoman9701]

I guess it has made its way to the lower Humptulips now. Working its way north. when it first showed up, they should have killed every elk in the area affected. Too late for that now. I'm not sure how you could cure a wild stock even if you knew how to treat it.

The article incorrectly states that the DFW first found out about it in 2008. They'd actually started seeing it 20 years earlier but did nothing about it until it reached critical mass.

[BA Mongor]

Pianoman is correct. By 1996 is was running rampant in the Kalama River  / Coweeman area and they "State" new something was up, as it wasn't just an isolated case, it was multiple animals.

[Tball77]

GLYPOSHATE.  Rabbit hole everyone should check out.  Also keep in mind the elliot bay crab die off when that stuff leached into the tidewaters.