Intentional Abuse and Cruelty
Concerns about intentional abuse and cruelty beyond the rigors of the race are also valid. According to an ESPN article following the 2007 Iditarod:
Two-time runner-up Ramy Brooks was disqualified from the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race for abusing his dogs. The 38-year-old Brooks hit each of his 10 dogs with a trail marking lathe, similar to a surveyor's stake, after two refused to get up and continue running on an ice field . . . Jerry Riley, winner of the 1976 Iditarod, was banned for life from the race in 1990 after he dropped a dog in White Mountain without informing veterinarians the animal was injured. Nine years later, he was allowed back in the race.
One of Brooks’ dogs later died during the 2007 Iditarod, but the death was believed to be unrelated to the beating.
Although Brooks was disqualified for beating his dogs, nothing in the Iditarod rules prohibits mushers from whipping the dogs. This quote from The Speed Mushing Manual, by Jim Welch, appears on the Sled Dog Action Coalition website:
A training device such as a whip is not cruel at all but is effective . . . It is a common training device in use among dog mushers . . . A whip is a very humane training tool . . . Never say 'whoa' if you intend to stop to whip a dog . . . So without saying 'whoa' you plant the hook, run up the side 'Fido' is on, grab the back of his harness, pull back enough so that there is slack in the tug line, say 'Fido, get up' immediately rapping his hind end with a whip.
As if dog deaths were not enough, the rules allow mushers to kill moose, caribou, buffalo and other large animals “in defense of life or property” along the race. If the mushers were not racing in the Iditarod, they wouldn’t encounter wild animals defending their territory.
Breeding and Culling
Many of the mushers breed their own dogs for use in the Iditarod and other sled dog races. Few dogs can become champions, so it is common practice to cull the unprofitable dogs. An email from former musher Ashley Keith to the Sled Dog Action Coalition explains:
When I was active in the mushing community, other mushers were open with me about the fact that larger Iditarod kennels frequently disposed of dogs by shooting them, drowning them or setting them loose to fend for themselves in the wilderness. This was especially true in Alaska, they said, where veterinarians were often hours away. They often used the phrase 'Bullets are cheaper.' And they noted that it's more practical for mushers in remote parts of Alaska to do it themselves.
What About the Mushers?
If the Iditarod is cruel to the dogs, isn’t it cruel to the mushers? Although the mushers endure some of the same harsh conditions faced by the dogs, the mushers decide voluntarily to run the race, and are fully aware of the risks involved. The dogs do not make such decisions knowingly or voluntarily. The mushers can also voluntarily decide to drop out and walk away when the race is too difficult. In contrast, individual dogs are dropped from the team when they are sick, injured or dead. Furthermore, the mushers are not whipped if they are going too slow.
What Can I Do?
Even with a $4,000 entry fee, the Iditarod loses money on each musher, so the race relies on money from corporate sponsors. Urge the sponsors to stop supporting animal cruelty, and boycott sponsors of the Iditarod. The Sled Dog Action Coalition website has a list of sponsors as well as a sample letter.
