Animal Advocates Watchdog
Thank God this year's northern celebration of animal cruelty is finally over. Three dogs were killed and over 90 dogs injured and/or run past the point of exhaustion. Dogs were forced to endure -50 degree (celsius) temperatures and pull heavy loads in difficult and dangerous terrain. Most Yukoners are either wildly supportive of this race or are afraid of speaking up publicly about Yukon's 'sacred cow' dog race. This year marked the first time that a Yukon Quest musher (Frank Turner) publicly spoke up about dog mushers culling/killing dogs. Mr. Turner said that anybody who enters the Quest should disclose their dog culling policy, and that they should not be allowed to participate in the race if they kill dogs.
The first dog died early in the race, apparently she was dragged for a long distance by a runaway team. When the team was found, the dog was dead -the race vets attributed the actual cause of death to suffocating on vomit. The second dog died after ingesting a piece of fabric or harness, and the dog's intestine was perforated. The third dog had a history of ulcers and also died of suffocation from vomit. This year's Quest featured a professor from the University of Michigan who attends the Quest and Iditarod to collect dead sled dogs to perform necropsies on, as part of studying the physiology of sled dogs. I could make his job easy - if you don't run dogs to death there will be no need for your services.
Please lobby the Yukon Territorial Government who are the major sponsors of this race. Again, very few Yukoners speak up, so support from the South and from animal lovers worldwide needs to be solicited. Learn about the dark side of the Yukon Quest at www.sleddogwatchdog.com
email Elaine Taylor, Yukon Government Minister of Tourism and Culture at:
