Pet elk denied re-entry to Pennsylvania from W.Va.

ALEPPO, Pa. (AP) -- A runaway elk can't go home to Pennsylvania, even if it wanted to.

More than a year after the 3-year-old elk escaped from his paddock, he's being denied re-entry to the state from West Virginia.

George and Sharon Richter want the animal back but state officials say they're worried it could be infected with chronic wasting disease, a highly contagious and fatal neurological disease.

So far, the disease hasn't been found in Pennsylvania. The only test for the disease involves killing the animal.

The Richters tell the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette the elk and two others escaped their Aleppo, Greene County farm when a gate was left unlocked. One elk eventually returned but the other hasn't been found.

Officials say the elk is currently being fed by residents in the area of Pleasant Valley, W.Va.

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)