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“It’s pretty common for sled-dog operators to kill dogs and not tell anyone,” *LINK*

Rival dog-sled companies slam mass cull of Outdoor Adventures' dogs
By Sean Sullivan, The ProvinceJanuary 31, 2011
Sled dog operators in Whistler say the 2010 Winter Olympic Games led to a downturn in their business, but insist they would never consider a mass cull as a way to trim down their pack.

“If our contractor has too many dogs, at a certain point they’ll give the dogs away or sell the puppies,” said Craig Beattie, general manager of Canadian Dogsled Adventures.

That contractor, Jamie Hargreaves of Trappers’ Rung Dogsled, said her business bottomed out after the Games. “I was killed after the Olympics,” Hargreaves said. “I lost about $40,000.”

Beattie said he also wasn’t able to maintain business during the Games. His usual sledding trail, a forest service road, was plowed for use as a backup route during the Games.

Still, they say, there’s no excuse for Outdoor Adventures inhumanely shooting and dumping dogs in a mass grave.

An Alaska-based group called Mush with P.R.I.D.E has developed voluntary care guidelines for sled dogs, including kennel sizes, chain lengths, whelping and how to provide comfort for senior, retired dogs.

“Whenever possible, animal control shelters or veterinarians should be used to perform euthanasia as necessary,” the guidelines read. “In isolated rural areas where such facilities are not available you must still make sure your dog is killed humanely, with no suffering.”

That’s little comfort to Terry Cumming of Melfort, Sask., who advocates against sled-dog operators through his website, Sled Dog Watchdog.

“It’s pretty common for [sled-dog operators] to kill dogs and not tell anyone,” Cumming said. “If the dogs are not capable of earning their keep, they’re of no value to either the dog-tour operators or the dog mushers.”

There are no specific regulations that govern the treatment of sled dogs. An owner may kill an animal legally in British Columbia, as long as it is done humanely, according to the BC SPCA.

Cumming said he’s heard of instances where truckloads of dogs were brought to veterinarians to be euthanized, though he argues most are shot in rural locations away from the public eye.

“I think dog tours should be outlawed. I don’t care what the tour operators say, it’s exploitation,” he said. “The ultimate result for the dogs is that when they’re not needed, they’re dead.”

ssullivan@theprovince.com

twitter.com/seanpatricks

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