[Received this from PETA today - will write reply to them including a request for PETA to take an interest in the Behchoko, NWT sled dog cruelty case and also to get on the case of Yukon authorities who support sled dog exploitation and cruelty, especially the Yukon Quest/Yukon Disgrace which fittingly starts on Valentine's Day - Listened to CBC Yukon weekend morning show today and one of the Quest's biggest fans at CBC, Bob Unger, played an interview with a representative from a public art gallery which is having an exhibit of historical dog photos from Yukon Archives, partly in honour of the Yukon Quest].

Hello,

I’m a cruelty caseworker with PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) and we have been working on a case in Tuktoyaktuk , Northwest Territories , Canada since the end of December. We have been fighting to get help for three dogs who are tethered with no shelter in extremely low temperatures. Unfortunately, the Tuktoyaktuk RCMP have failed to respond to our, and our members’, pleas to confiscate or demand better shelter for these dogs. Please click here for photos and more information. Any help you could offer would be greatly appreciated.

Best,

Joshua Heller, Cruelty Caseworker
Emergency Response Team
Cruelty Investigations Department
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals(PETA)

Tel: 757-962-8226
Fax: 757-628-0796
Email: JoshuaH@peta.org

-----Inline Message Follows-----

February 4, 2009

To:

The Honorable Anthony W. J. Whitford, Commissioner of the Northwest Territories

The Honorable Robert McLeod, Minister, Municipal and Community Affairs

The Honorable John Picek, Superintendent, Municipal and Community Affairs, Inuvik Region

The Honorable Jackson Lafferty, Minister of Justice

The Honorable Jackie Jacobson, Nunakput Member of the Legislative Assembly

The Honorable Ron Morrison, Superintendent, Environment and Natural Resources, Wildlife Section

The Honorable Marsha Branigan, Manager, Environment and Natural Resources, Wildlife Section

The Honorable Dennis Bevington, Member of Parliament

From: Joshua Heller , Cruelty Caseworker

Re: Three dogs suffering in Tuktoyaktuk

We write this letter in earnest hope that some or all of you will share our grave concern for three dogs currently suffering terribly in Tuktoyaktuk. While we realize you may not have jurisdiction, we pray that you will consider using your influence to assist these animals who so badly need your voice.

PETA is the world’s largest animal welfare organization with over 2 million members and supporters internationally. PETA’s cruelty caseworkers, with the Inuvik SPCA, have struggled in vain on behalf of three sled dogs in Tuktoyaktuk who are currently tethered without access to any shelter in sub-zero temperatures (the temperature in this region is currently negative 32 degrees Celsius). We are told that these surviving three dogs appear to be exhibiting symptoms of hypothermia. It is with respect, and in desperation, that we turn to you, in hopes that you might somehow affect this urgent situation. Please click here for photos and more information.

Last month, several sled dogs belonging to the same “pack” were found frozen to death in Tuktoyaktuk. While initially we had hoped charges might be filed against the owner, our focus quickly shifted to the welfare of three survivors when we learned that they were/are now facing the same fate. The local RCMP claimed that they were safe and being properly cared for, however we found that this was/is not the case. They are in fact tethered in the snow, without doghouses or any shelter whatsoever and again, apparently suffering hypothermia. PETA and the Inuvik SPCA implored local officials to step in on behalf of these poor dogs, to no avail. Believing that the three dogs in question are in grave danger of dying, as others already have, we advocated for them on our website. This got us nowhere.

On behalf of our thousands of members and supporters in Canada , we beg you to lend your voices to this urgent matter. We hope that these dogs might be confiscated, or the owner compelled to provide them with doghouses which they so desperately need. We thank you for your time and consideration. I can be reached by phone at 757-962-8226, via facsimile at 757-628-0795, or via email at JoshuaH@peta.org. May we hear from you soon?