The following letter was published in the Wednesday, October 31, Yukon News - slight edit for the web:
'Dogged pursuit of an end'
I write this letter in response to A. Murray Lundberg’s hatchet-job letter (‘Sled dog advocacy?’) in last Wednesday’s Yukon News.
Mr. Lundberg posted a similar message on his Explore North blog, where he and his band of followers continue to spread further venom (on Monday, Mr. Lundberg was banned from posting on one animal rights blog in the South because of his abusive language).
Since writing his letter, he has had his rear end handed to him on a platter, served up half a dozen ways, from intelligent and thoughtful animal advocates in the South. He may have also done serious harm to his reputation as a Yukon citizen/business person/historian, but I will leave that to society to judge, and ask him to do some deep reflection about his words and behaviour.
This letter is also addressed to Mr. Stephen Reynolds, executive director of the Yukon Quest, to inform him that his organization’s continuous failure to respond to allegations of Yukon Quest sled dog cruelty only encourages misguided zealots like Lundberg to respond on its behalf.
In a matter of days, after a weekend of online battle, he has seriously helped tarnish the image of the Quest and Yukon dog mushing in general.
The main issue our organization and its supporters want addressed is that of 2007 Yukon Quest race marshal Mike McCowan’s statement that the Quest organization is not concerned about the issue of Yukon Quest mushers’ dog-culling policies and practices (in response to Quest musher Frank Turner’s plea the Quest secure a pledge from prospective Quest competitors that they “do not cull dogs”).
We also respectfully suggest that major Quest race sponsor, Yukon Tourism, have a talk with Reynolds and ask him to (in a serious manner) respond to this and other concerns about sled dog treatment, because Tourism’s relationship with the Quest may, in the very near future, have a negative effect on animal lovers in the South wishing to visit our otherwise very beautiful Yukon Territory.
We await your response.
Terry Cumming
SledDogWatchdog.com
Whitehorse, Yukon
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P.S. - I sincerely thank Yukon News editor Richard Mostyn for printing this letter and also the one by A. Murray Lundberg.
I am very sorry to have inflicted some of the of ugliness of this debate onto your AAS site, but it does show the extent some people in the Yukon will go to in order to subjugate man's best friend.
Also important to mention is the fact that many Yukoners who support the Quest would never want their dogs to be treated the way Quest dogs are, but their love for dogs does not extend past the hearts of their own canine companions.
I will keep everyone posted if any more letters are published. Please email Yukon News senior editor Richard Mostyn and thank him for ALWAYS COMING THROUGH FOR ANIMALS when it counts.
The Yukon News is available by free subscription at http://yukon-news.com/
Content in the current issue will be fully accessible after Friday's News is published online.
Thank you to all the good people at AAS, those who support it and those who have provided needed words of encouragement to me. Thank you also to Mary Martin at http://www.animalperson.net
I have to keep repeating that AAS and Animal Person are my two most important AR sites.