It’s time Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife (WDFW) takes responsibility. Talk about animal cruelty in the Eastern Skagit County elk herd.

WDFW reports 10% of the elk, likely over 300 elk in Eastern Skagit County, are infected with a highly contagious hoof rot disease.

In 1999 elk hoof rot was discovered in the Mount St. Helens elk herd. Why in 2003-05 would DFW import 85 elk from this infected Mount St. Helens herd into Eastern Skagit County knowing about the deadly elk hoof rot infestation?

Why after 20 years is WDFW still allowing elk to die a slow, painful death by immobility, starvation and dehydration with some elk literally eaten alive by predators?

Why is WDFW allowing these infected elk to continue to spread the disease onto our Skagit farms and to our livestock knowing the disease lives in wet soils and is easily transferred to livestock or other elk?

Aileen Good

Sedro Woolley, Wash.