Elk Hoof Disease Research Candidate to Speak in Olympia

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Washington State University is bringing the first of at least four candidates for the new elk hoof disease research leader position to speak in Olympia on Thursday. 

The presentation is scheduled for 9 a.m. Thursday in the South Puget Sound Community College lecture hall at 2011 Mottman Road, SW, in Olympia.

“The candidate, Aniruddha Belsare, is currently a postdoctoral fellow in the University of Idaho’s Center for Modeling and Complex Interactions,” according to a press release from Washington State University. “He earned his Ph.D. in Wildlife Sciences with a focus on Disease Ecology from the University of Missouri in 2013.  His current research has focused on the interaction between disease causing organisms and the animals they infect.”

Belsare’s lecture is called “Pragmatic models for defensible decisions: An adaptive management approach for mitigating wildlife disease threats.” A public question and answer period will follow his presentation. 

In 2017, the Washington Legislature passed and funded legislation designating WSU’s College of Veterinary Medicine as the lead organization for finding solutions for elf hoof disease. 



The diseases causes lameness, sloughing of the hooves and eventually death of affected animals. 

The Legislature provided nearly $1.52 million for the effort. 

The research will include collaboration with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, the Washington Department of Agriculture, Native American tribes and other agencies.