Please Help Put an End to the Iditarod

Hundreds of dogs are abused and exploited every year in Alaskas Iditarod dog sled racea dangerous trek of more than 1,000 miles. Todays race has absoulutly nothing in common with the original Iditarod, which was intended to deliver an emergency supply of diphtheria serum to hundreds of lives at risk. Todays participants, almost none of whom are indigenous Alaskans, are motivated only by the cash prize the race offers.
Usually, dogs are forced to run four- to five-hour stretches with very little rest. They are forced to endure biting winds, blinding snowstorms, subzero temperatures, and the very real danger of falling through treacherous ice into freezing waters. Almost every year, several dogs die of sudden death syndrome, which means that they are literally run to death.

Through the years, the death toll has surpassed 120. Studies have indicated that the dogs have a high incidence of ulcer-related illnesses and deaths because of the anti-inflammatory drugs that are frequently used to mask their injuries and allow them to run farther and faster.

In July 2002, the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine detailed a study of airway-passage disease in dogs who had recently completed the Iditarod81 percent of the dogs studied had abnormal accumulations of mucus or debris in their bronchial tubes that resulted in injury and inflammation.

In a March 20, 2004, Santa Rosa Press Democrat article, Dr. Paula Kislak, president of the Association of Veterinarians for Animal Rights, stated that [w]ith a buildup of lactic acid and other chemicals from muscle degradation as a result of extreme exercise, toxicity in the liver and kidneys may not cause death for days or weeks after a race.

Besides the obvious cruelty, dogs also pay an awful price behind the scenes. Not every puppy born is a fast runner, and for those who do not make the grade suffer a death sentenceby bludgeoning or drowningfor not possessing monumental stamina and speed. Manuals and articles written by top mushers blatantly recommend killing dogs who do not measure up. One musher equates it to weeding a garden. Almost invariably, those who are left after the weeding are to spend their entire lives in cramped, substandard kennels that are rarely or never inspected by any regulatory agency. Many kennel operators keep dogs tethered on short ropes or chains or cram them into tiny confined spaces. In 2003, an Ohio man was charged with cruelty to animals for keeping and transporting 14 huskies, whom he claimed to be training for the Iditarod, chained to barrels on the back of a homemade trailer.

In October 2004, nearly 30 malnourished sled dogs were seized from David Straub, who has run the Iditarod three times, last in 2002. Straub was charged with 17 counts of cruelty to animals, and the dogs were taken to a local animal-care facility.
Greg Cote, sports columnist for The Miami Herald, wrote last March about the Iditarod, The bizarre competition involves 65 mushers, drivers along for the ride as their slaves16 dog teams, at least at the startdo the hard labor, at times encouraged by their masters whips. He calls the race a grotesque shame masquerading as sport and explains that the abuse of the dogs constitutes a violation of cruelty-to-animals statutes across the United States.

USA Today sports columnist Jon Saraceno, who refers to the Iditarod as Ihurtadog, has called it an embarrassment, an outrage, and a travesty of grueling proportions. In an article published during the 2001 race, Saraceno wrote, Its really shameful marketing carried out on the backs of defenseless animals. He also stated, Injury and death are Iditarod partners.

Fox sportscaster Jim Rome has termed the Iditarod the I-killed-a-dog sled race and pointed out in an article following the completion of last years race that two dogs died during the race and several others were removed from the race because of injuries, including a group of dogs who had been mangled by a snow-making machine.

George Diaz, sports columnist for the Orlando Sentinel, said of the Iditarod in a March 2000 article, Although the fluff coverage in the Anchorage Daily News promotes the Iditarod as Alaskas great race, it is nothing more than a barbaric ritual that gives Alaskan cowboys a license to kill.

In an article entitled Iditarods Bone of Contention Repels Some Marketers, Bruce Horowitz of USA Today calls the Iditarod a public relations minefield.

After last years race, Hartford Courant Sports columnist Jeff Jacoby wrote, The supporters of this race have the audacity to call the Iditarod a sporting event. The truth is its closer to the scourging scene in Mel Gibsons new movie [The Passion of the Christ].
With all these facts and comments from the media I am urging you to please make this cruel sport a part of the past. Please, lets evolve into the peaceful beings we strive to be.