Scaled-back elk hoof rot bill passes state senate committee

The Chronicle, Centralia

A bill dealing with hoof rot in elk was approved by the Washington state Senate Ways and Means Committee this week.

The bill, sponsored by Sen. Kirk Pearson, R-Monroe, limits attempts to move diseased elk from areas of the state, particularly southwest Washington, where hoof rot is widespread, to other areas of the state.

Senate Bill 5474 would also shift authority to the Washington State University College of Veterinary Medicine for identifying causes and finding solutions to eradicate the disease, a press release said.

The revised version of the bill discards language found in the original that would have allowed state Department of Fish and Wildlife officers to kill elk with severe limps, and may have extended that authority to hunters. The approved version of the bill only deals with the aforementioned limits on transportation and a mandate for finding a cure or solution to hoof rot in elk.

The bill is ready to be brought to the Senate floor for a vote to pass it to the House of Representatives.

Hoof rot is the common name for a contagious disease that has affected elk in Washington state in recent years. The center of the disease in the elk population is Southwest Washington, but it is spreading.

The disease causes the flesh of the hoof, especially between the toes of the affected animal, to rot away and causes severe pain and damage.