The 'dog mushing episode' in the new Discovery Channel series 'Out in the Cold' will be on the Discovery Channel today (7PM - Eastern, 4PM Western time). The episode features Yukon Quest veteran musher Frank Turner. Mr. Turner is the musher who (last February, immediately prior to the Yukon Quest) broached the issue of Yukon Quest mushers (not himself though) culling sled dogs as part of the process of developing a Yukon Quest dog team.

Now Mr. Turner is appearing in this series to dispel 'negative concepts' of dog mushing/sled dog racing, including the Quest. The media in the Yukon never pursued or followed up reporting about sled dog culling (e.g. by posing direct questions such as: "Have you, or anyone employed by you, ever killed a dog or puppy?"; "Have you ever brought perfectly healthy dogs from your kennel into your local vet clinic to have them euthanized?; "Have you ever sold, leased, loaned, or given away unwanted sled dogs?").

The dog mushing industry has huge publicity resources in obtaining positive (paid) coverage from media sources like the Discovery Channel. The Yukon Territorial Government, according to a report in one of the local Whitehorse newspapers, was a major sponsor of the 'Out in the Cold' series (the episodes apparently cost $200,000 each to produce).

You may or may not see scenes of the 120 or more chained dogs Mr. Turner keeps in his dog yard. For that you can go to his website at http://www.muktuk.com/dog_RescueDogs.php

Yukon Quest mushers, including Turner, use their participation in the race as advertising for their dog mushing tour businesses, where the 'real money' is. Watch tonight's episode for yourselves to see if you can identify any examples of sled dog exploitation (that is, aside from our right to use 'sentient beings' for work, money and entertainment, as sled dogs are used for).

Sled dog tourism in the Yukon is a 'growth industry' supported by our tourism bureau. More dogs will need to be bred/culled as demand for their services increases.

2007 Quest/Iditarod champ Lance Mackey to appear on ABC-TV series 'Wife Swap':

http://thedamndog.com/forum/showthread.php?t=11275