Thank you AAS for sending me this story and for posting it on the board. Sled dogs are among the most exploited animals in the world (and sled dog advocacy is on the very outer fringes of animal rights causes). You would be surprised how many dog lovers I know whose attitude about sled dogs is that "this is what they were BORN to do, so what's the problem?"

Not to mention the conditions in which the vast majority of these dogs live their lives (chained up next to cheap dog houses when they are not racing, pulling around hordes of tourists in the winter and summer, subject to being 'culled' when their services are no longer required).

Here is a little update from the Yukon, a Territory which prides itself on exploiting sled dogs.

The shameful Yukon Quest organization had previously lobbied the City of Whitehorse for a donation of land upon which to erect a bronze archway sled dog team monument, estimated by the Quest to cost $400K to $1M. The monument was to be conveniently located near the end of Main Street in Whitehorse, next to the Quest office and Quest start/finish line (the race alternates start and finish between Whitehorse and Fairbanks, AK).

Possibly due to the organization getting a good kick in the rear end by SledDogWatchdog.com in the last year and some bad press (three dogs were killed in the 2007 race), the cowardly organization is apparently now hiding behind the RCMP Auxiliary, who are now fronting the project. The new 'stone monument' is estimated to cost $350K - $500K, this obscene amount of money would go a long way towards improving animal welfare in the Yukon.

The RCMP still has a cloud of complicity in sled dog slaughter hanging over it. The Yukon Quest and the RCMP - talk about 'strange bedfellows.'

References:

[Yukon Quest request for land from City of Whitehorse]
http://sleddogwatchdog.com/2006_2007_quest_race_comments.html

[Shooting dogs perfectly legal in the Yukon]
http://sleddogwatchdog.com/cbc_interview_dog_shootings.html

[A great source of information about sled dog exploitation]
http://helpsleddogs.org