Companies sponsoring Iditarod dog sled race brutalities

[ilovehounds]

I just recieved this in the mail, I know there are some fans but I was aked to post it here. Im just copying and pasting ;)



Hi All,
Please cross post, and if you chose to boycott a company, there
is a sample letter, included.
Thanks For Being You
Bonnie And My Girls

Subject: Companies sponsoring Iditarod dog sled race brutalities


From The Sled Dog Action Coalition, http://www.helpsleddogs.org:

The brutality continues. Dogs who are forced to run in the Iditarod dog
sled
race need your help. Many dogs who are permanently disabled in the
Iditarod
or who are unwanted for any other reason are shot in the head, dragged
or
clubbed to death. "On-going cruelty is the law of many dog lots. Dogs
are
clubbed with baseball bats and if they don't pull are dragged to death
in
harnesses....." wrote Alaskan Mike Cranford in an article for Alaska's
Bush
Blade Newspaper (March, 2000).

The Iditarod is condemned by animal protection groups and concerned
animal
lovers across the United States. Iditarod dogs are cruelly treated by
mushers
and those who would profit from the exploitation of these animals. This
race
forces dogs to run 1,150 miles, which is the approximate distance
between
New
York City and Orlando, over a grueling terrain in 9 to 14 days. In
"WinterDance: the Fine Madness of Running the Iditarod," Gary Paulsen
describes witnessing an Iditarod musher brutally kicking a dog to death
during the race. He wrote, "All the time he was kicking the dog. Not
with
the
imprecision of anger, the kicks, not kicks to match his rage but aimed,
clinical vicious kicks. Kicks meant to hurt deeply, to cause serious
injury.
Kicks meant to kill."

Below is a list of some of the companies associated with the 2002
Iditarod.
A
complete list is found on http://www.helpsleddogs.org/sponsors.htm.
There is
also a sample letter below. If you will be boycotting a company, please
say
so in your letter.

Sample letter: found below company contact information

Musher sponsors:

Minnesota Wild NHL Hockey Team
317 Washington Street
Saint Paul, MN 55102
Phone: (651) 602-6000
Fax: (651) 222-1055
Email: [email protected]

William R. Johnson, CEO
H.J. Heinz Company (Nature's Recipe Pet Food)
600 Grant Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15219
Toll free phone: 1-800-237-3856
Fax: 412-456-6128
Email: [email protected]

Luigi Francavilla, Co-CEO
Roberto Chemello, Co-CE
Luxottica (LensCrafters- optical retailers)
32021 Agordo
Belluno, Italy
Fax: +39-0437-63223
Email message box: http://www.luxottica.it/english/contact.html

Charles A. Ledsinger, Jr., CEO
Choice Hotels (Comfort Inns)
10750 Columbia Pike
Silver Spring, MD 20901
Toll free phone: (800) 424-6423
Email: [email protected]

Stanford Kurland, CEO
Countrywide Credit Industries, Inc. (Countrywide Home Loans)
4500 Park Granada
Calabasas, CA 91302-1613
Phone: 818-225-3000
Fax: 818-225-4051
Email: [email protected]

Stephen J. Winjum, CEO
NovaMed Eyecare, Inc. (Hobson - Tasman Eye & Blue Laser Group)
980 N. Michigan Ave., Ste. 1620
Chicago, IL 60611
Phone: 312-664-4100
Fax: 312-664-4250
Email: [email protected]

Alan G. Lafley, CEO
Procter & Gamble (Iams)
One Procter & Gamble Plaza
Cincinnati, OH 45202
Phone: 513-983-1100
Fax: 513-983-9369
Email: [email protected]

Timothy Boyle, CEO
Columbia Sportswear Company (skiwear, shoes, casual wear)
14375 NW Science Park Drive
Portland, OR 97229-5418
Tel: 503-985-4000
Fax: 503-985-5800
Email: [email protected]

Eugene Bissell , CEO
UGI Corporation (AmeriGas)
460 N. Gulph Rd.
King of Prussia, PA 19406
Phone: 610-337-7000
Fax: 610-992-3259
Email: [email protected]

Michael Moran, Chmn
Spiegel, Inc. (Eddie Bauer)
3500 Lacey Rd.
Downers Grove, IL 60515-5432
Phone: 1-800-474-5555 (toll free)
Email: [email protected]

Stephen Bollenbach, CEO
Hilton Hotels
9336 Civic Center Dr.
Beverly Hills, CA 90210
Phone: 310-278-4321
Fax: 310-205-7678
Email: [email protected]

Barry S. Sternlicht, CEO
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (Sheraton Hotels)
777 Westchester Ave.
White Plains, NY 10604
Phone: 914-640-8100
Fax: 914-640-8310
Email: [email protected]

Christel DeHaan, CEO
Christel DeHaan Family Foundation, Inc.
10 West Market Street, Suite1990
Indianapolis, IN 46204
Email: [email protected]

National Wild Turkey Federation, Inc
770 Augusta Road
Edgefield, SC 29824
Toll free phone: 1-800-THE-NWTF
Email: [email protected]

Iditarod race sponsors:

John Wilson, CEO
Millennium & Copthorne Hotels
Scarsdale Place, Kensington
London W8 5SR, United Kingdom
Phone: +44-20-7872-2444
Fax: +44-20-7872-2460
Email: [email protected]

Lord Blyth, Chmn
Diageo plc (Brands include: Royal Crown, Smirnoff, Johnnie Walker,
Guinness)
8 Henrietta Place
London W1M 9AG, United Kingdom
Phone: +44-612-207-927-5200
Fax: +44-612-2
Email:[email protected]

Micky Arison, CEO
Carnival Corporation (Holland America Line)
3655 NW 87 Ave.
Miami, FL 33178
Phone: 1-888-227-6482 (toll free)
Fax: 305-406-4700
Email: [email protected]

Joseph A. Pichler, CEO
Kroger Co. (Fred Meyer Stores)
1014 Vine St.
Cincinnati, OH 45202
Phone: 513-762-4000
Fax: 513-762-1160
Email: [email protected]

Richard M. Kovacevich, CEO
Wells Fargo & Company
402 Montgomery Street
San Francisco, CA 94163
Phone: 1-800-411-4932 (toll free)
Fax: 415-677-9075
Email: [email protected]

Alan Lacy, CEO
Sears, Roebuck & Co.
3333 Beverly Road
Hoffman Estates, IL 60179
Phone: (847) 286-2500
Fax: (847) 286-7829
Email: [email protected]

Hermann J. Strenger, Chmn
Bayer (gives Iditarod free medications)
Werk Leverkusen 51368
Leverkusen, Germany
Phone: +49-214-30-58992
Fax: +49-214-307-1985
Email: [email protected]

Sample letter for you to personalize:

Dear

I understand your company is associated with the Iditarod, and I would
like
to bring some facts to your attention. This race is condemned by animal
protection groups and concerned animal lovers across the United States.
Please stop supporting this abusive race and all of the evils
associated
with
it.

Mushers treat their dogs abominably. In the Iditarod, dogs are forced
to run
1,150 miles over a grueling terrain in 9 to 14 days, which is the
approximate
distance between Orlando and New York City. Dog deaths and injuries are
common in the race. USA Today sports columnist Jon Saraceno called the
Iditarod "a travesty of grueling proportions" and "Ihurtadog." Fox
sportscaster Jim Rome called it "I-killed-a-dog." Orlando Sentinel
sports
columnist George Diaz said the race is "a barbaric ritual" and "an
illegal
sweatshop for dogs." USA Today business columnist Bruce Horovitz said
the
race is a "public-relations minefield."

Please visit the Sled Dog Action Coalition website
http://www.helpsleddogs.org to see pictures, and for more information.
Be
sure to read the quotes on http://www.helpsleddogs.org/remarks.htm. All
of
the material on the site is true and verifiable.

At least 117 dogs have died in the Iditarod. There is no official count
of
dog deaths available for the race's early years. In WinterDance: the
Fine
Madness of Running the Iditarod, Gary Paulsen describes witnessing an
Iditarod musher brutally kicking a dog to death during the race. He
wrote,
"All the time he was kicking the dog. Not with the imprecision of
anger, the
kicks, not kicks to match his rage but aimed, clinical vicious kicks.
Kicks
meant to hurt deeply, to cause serious injury. Kicks meant to kill."

Causes of death have also included strangulation in towlines, internal
hemorrhaging after being gouged by a sled, liver injury, heart failure,
and
pneumonia. "Sudden death" and "external myopathy," a fatal condition in
which
a dog's muscles and organs deteriorate during extreme or prolonged
exercise,
have also occurred. The 1976 Iditarod winner, Jerry Riley, was accused
of
striking his dog with a snow hook (a large, sharp and heavy metal
claw). In
1996, one of Rick Swenson's dogs died while he mushed his team through
waist-deep water and ice. The Iditarod Trail Committee banned both
mushers
from the race but later reinstated them. In many states these incidents
would
be considered animal cruelty.

In the 2001 Iditarod, a sick dog was sent to a prison to be cared for
by
inmates and received no veterinary care. He was chained up in the cold
and
died. Another dog died by suffocating on his own vomit.

Tom Classen, retired Air Force colonel and Alaskan resident for over 40
years, tells us that the dogs are beaten into submission:

"They've had the hell beaten out of them." "You don't just whisper into
their
ears, ‘OK, stand there until I tell you to run like the devil.' They
understand one thing: a beating. These dogs are beaten into submission
the
same way elephants are trained for a circus. The mushers will deny it.
And
you know what? They are all lying." -USA Today, March 3, 2000 in Jon
Saraceno's column

Beatings and whippings are common. Jim Welch says in his book Speed
Mushing
Manual, "I heard one highly respected [sled dog] driver once state that
"‘Alaskans like the kind of dog they can beat on.'" "Nagging a dog
team is
cruel and ineffective...A training device such as a whip is not cruel
at all
but is effective." "It is a common training device in use among dog
mushers...A whip is a very humane training tool."

Mushers believe in "culling" or killing unwanted dogs, including
puppies.
Many dogs who are permanently disabled in the Iditarod, or who are
unwanted
for any reason, are killed with a shot to the head, dragged or clubbed
to
death. "On-going cruelty is the law of many dog lots. Dogs are clubbed
with
baseball bats and if they don't pull are dragged to death in
harnesses....."
wrote Alaskan Mike Cranford in an article for Alaska's Bush Blade
Newspaper
(March, 2000).
Jon Saraceno wrote in his March 3, 2000 column in USA Today, "He
[Colonel
Tom
Classen] confirmed dog beatings and far worse. Like starving dogs to
maintain
their most advantageous racing weight. Skinning them to make mittens.
Or
dragging them to their death."

The race has led to the proliferation of concentration-camp-like dog
kennels
in which the dogs are treated very cruelly. Many kennels have over 100
dogs
and some have as many as 200. It is standard for the dogs to spend
their
entire lives outside tethered to metal chains that can be as short as
four
feet long. In 1997 the United States Department of Agriculture
determined
that the tethering of dogs was inhumane and not in the animals' best
interests. The chaining of dogs as a primary means of enclosure is
prohibited
in all cases where federal law applies. A dog who is permanently
tethered is
forced to urinate and defecate where he sleeps, which conflicts with
his
natural instinct to eliminate away from his living area. Because he is
close
to his own to his own fecal material, a dog can easily catch deadly
parasitical diseases by stepping in or sniffing his own waste.

The Alaska SPCA has called for an end to the breeding and culling
(killing)
of these dogs. Iditarod dogs are unhappy prisoners with no chance of
parole.
Please end your company's association with the Iditarod dog sled race.

Sincerely,

[mkgwolf]

I keep seeing stuff like this and some may be true but these people are just trying to make it sound worse than it is. These dogs are some of the happiest dogs in the world and if you havent seen a race you wouldnt really understand that. The dogs arnt "forced"to run, they want to. Whenthey dont want to run anymore they just stop and theres nothing the musher can do about it. There have been a few cases of animal abuse during the races over the years but these people have been punished, fined, disqualified, whatever. More dogs die from being attacked by moose and sickness from improperly stored food. The mushers care for the dogs before even thinking about themselves. I mean they spend so much time with them especially during the races. These races are very well regulated and supervised. There is way more of a problem of dogs being abused in your own town. Just go to your local humane society or drive around your town. You might want to read more about the Iditarod and mushing than just some exagerated stuff about the all the mishaps and bad thing that have ever happened.(no offense to whoever wrote this)

[lizbud]

I think the Iditarod is a perverse spectacle and a
great example of turning a basic love of running by
these dogs into a gross moneymaking adventure by
human beings. It belongs in the same league with
Greyhound racing. Both activities should be banned
as cruel & dangerous for the canine participents.
There is a quote attributed to Roger Caras, that says;

" There are only three sins-
causing pain,causing fear,
and causing anguish. The rest is window dressing"

[yorkster]

Wow. I don't know where I've been, but I have not heard this before. The dogs DO seem so happy.
I would like to know more, and find out if this is blown out of proportion or not.
If it's all correct, then my feelings about it have changed.
Either way, thanks for posting this so that people are aware there is controversy about it.

[Logan]

We have a member on this board who is very familiar with the Iditarod racing and is quite a fan. I'm going to email her and see if she will chime in here and try to settle our nerves a bit, before we jump to too many conclusions. Chuck, I think finding the links to some pro-iditarod sites would be good too. Bea will know where to find them, I'm sure.

:)

[ilovehounds]

I myself have never seen or heard anything about Iditarod before.

As you may know I post alot of topics for Bonnie ( a friend in rescue) and this was sent to me by her.

I would be just as interested to know more about this as you guys are, I will right Bonnie and let her know that you guys as well as I would like to know more.

I mean it sounds bad but Im not going to judge it just from this one letter alone.

[RachelJ]

Originally posted by ilovehounds
I just recieved this in the mail, I know there are some fans but I was aked to post it here. Im just copying and pasting ;)

It is standard for the dogs to spend
their entire lives outside tethered to metal chains that can be as short as four feet long. In 1997 the United States Department of Agriculture determined that the tethering of dogs was inhumane and not in the animals' best interests. The chaining of dogs as a primary means of enclosure is prohibited in all cases where federal law applies. A dog who is permanently tethered is
forced to urinate and defecate where he sleeps, which conflicts with his natural instinct to eliminate away from his living area. Because he is close to his own to his own fecal material, a dog can easily catch deadly parasitical diseases by stepping in or sniffing his own waste.



I don't know much about dog racing but I have seen many pictures of racing dogs housed as described above, and this upsets me. I am sure there are some dogs that are kenneled in far more humane conditions as well so I have no information to make sweeping generalizations. Of course this is not something that is only done with racing dogs. Whether or not all the accusations raised here are accurate, I don't have a clue, but I think it is good to bring out these concerns. As we have seen with Greyhound racing, there can be a system that promotes conditions that are not in the best interests of canines. I don't think it is the racing per se that anyone objects to but the inhumane treatment of animals.

[ramanth]

In everything you have good owners and bad owners. Good racers and bad racers. Condem the bad ones.

These dogs were bred to pull sleds. They love to run and pull. Way back in the day before vehicles, it was the only way people could get around. Now that more modern modes of transportation have appeared, the dogs merely race. Go to any Siberian Husky site and you'll see the same thing over and over. These dogs LOVE to run.

A good racer needs his team of dogs to win. Why would someone in their right mind hurt or kill them?

It just doesn't make sense to me.

[ramanth]

There is a girl I know whose family races huskies. She loves her dogs and they are family to her. I do not know if she and her family race in the Iditarod.

I have emailed her to get her OPINION. So please don't flame us when I have news to share.

[lizbud]

Ramanth,

Nobody "flames" anybody else on this board for
having a differing opinion than their own.At least
not that I've ever seen. This is just one of the
Great things about the Pet Talk Group. Liz.

[ramanth]

Very true Liz.

I guess I just tend to be protective. Another board I lurk at is high on flaming. I stick it out..... but you are right. It's a reason that this is a great board. :)

[mkgwolf]

Good site supporting the Iditarod, has all the real facts: www.geocities.com/sunhusky

This is is kind of more for kids: http://teacher.scholastic.com/iditarod/home.htm

Heres the mainpage: www.iditarod.com

I've never really heard about greyhound racing because there is none around here.

[lizbud]

I want a Do-Over Please ?

When I posted my earlier remarks about the Iditarod
dog event, I honestly forgot that we had a very much
loved & respected Pet Talk member whose name is Bea
and whose login name is IDITARODFAN. If a had a Do-over,
I would preface my comments with an apology to Bea &
assurances that I meant nothing personal with my opinions
on the Iditarod, as it is run nowadays.
I would not however change my thoughts on the event
unless someone could show everyone that these dogs
are housed & treated humanely, and are not forced to
run to the point of exhaustion. If they love to run "that far"
why do the mushers need whips? Liz.

P.S. I was not influenced by the posting of info by
ILoveHounds, I'm an old fart, and I've read much earlier
criticisms of the treatment of the dogs in Iditarod,years
ago.

[ilovehounds]

Okey I tried to be open minded about this but in doing some searching I have decided that This race is just as bad... no I think worse then grey hound racing.

*http://www.helpsleddogs.org/Images/mush.JPG A dog is being dragged on the ice. He may be dead or unconscious.
The musher lies comfortably on the sled.

*"At least 117 dogs have been run to death or have died from other causes in the Iditarod. There is no official count of dog deaths available for the race's early years. "

*I don't understand how it's alright for these people to "cull" there dog stock and shoot unwanted dogs in the head, but you say greyhound racing is so terrible ????? to me they both should be stoped.

*There dog kennels are no better kept then puppy mills, over breeding and poor facilities.http://www.helpsleddogs.org/Images/image3.jpg

So I gave it a chance I went and researched myself and now I know what its all about and I don't agree with it. Im not saying you guys should stop supporting and enjoying the sport or anything. Im just saying I can't.




FROM BONNIE ABOUT THE ORIGINAL POST: This is not made up by animal activist, this is news
coverage, by reporters. I hear that "well these dogs, are breed to pull sleds", great....Labs swim,
but I wouldn't expect mine to swim from Ohio to Canada !

[NaokoAri]

look, i'm new here but i've been hearing a lot of BS about some of you saying stuff about the Iditarod. i am a musher. i race sled dogs but i know for a FACT that these dogs ARE NOT FORCED TO RUN! damn, you should see the way the bawl, whine, etc. to hit the trail!

i saw that picture you posted, Ilovehounds. dogs can trip. people can trip. if the dogs didn't like it, they would've stopped. yes, there is culling, however, these "mushers" are very rare. i don't agree with culling myself but not the majority of real mushers do this.

and the picture of the kennel. what is wrong with that? there's obviously no crap laying around is there? what is wrong with that dog yard? the chains and able to swivel around preventing the dog from tangling itself! ....oh, i get it now, you WANT to choke the dog..uh huh. so if it doesn't LOOK nice then it's no good.

and like what everyone said, these dogs LOVE & LIVE to run. yes, there are bad mushers out there but that doesn't mean to take the Iditarod away! do you even know how it was started? i'm assuming you don't considering all this BS your posting.

"...If they love to run "that far"
why do the mushers need whips...?"

3 words - whips are illegal. where did you get the idea that we use whips?

and to lizbud,
you are just as bad as our friend, ilovehounds. you do not run dogs. you don't see the passion these dogs have when they run. you think we're cruel? we're not. all of us put our dogs before our own needs. all mushers tend to their dogs before themselves. there are bad mushers out there, but this doesn't mean stereotype the whole sport of dogsledding.

i am pretty mad right now. and what i say is all lost in the anger. so reply and i'll make some more points.

[NaokoAri]

[http://www.isdra.org/Beginners/Introduction/safety_on_the_trail.htm]Here's a link to one of the pages at ISDRA.org[http://www.isdra.org/Beginners/Introduction/safety_on_the_trail.htm]

[http://www.isdra.org/Beginners/Introduction/what_makes_sled_dogs_run.htm]Here's something else from ISDRA[http://www.isdra.org/Beginners/Introduction/what_makes_sled_dogs_run.htm]

this may not convince you but any mushers who knows dogs, or any person with an open mind, can tell you that you're posting BS.

[http://www.iditarod.com/behind_race.html]here's a link to a page in Iditarod.com[http://www.iditarod.com/behind_race.html]

[slleipnir]

I'm sure they didn't mean anything to offend you. Maybe it was just the place they were at..that they were talking about (sry i didnt read the before posts..)

[NaokoAri]

obviously u haven't.

[ilovehounds]

Im sorry but your statement has done nothing to change my mind. In fact it has fueled it.



dogs can trip. people can trip. if the dogs didn't like it, they would've stopped
come on like you get up ever race and say "hey do you want to run today" and the dog says "yes I sure do" . When a dog trips do you stop and say "hey do you wanna get up or do you wanna be dragged through the rest of the race"?

Sure dogs love to race and pull, let them race around a big pen, let them pull you around an a nice cushy trail.

My dogs LOVE to run you don't see me making them run 1,150 miles in harsh terrain.

You can't tell me that if I showed you that picture of dogs tied on short leashes in the open with rusted water dishes and by the looks of it , it gets muddy around the dogs and told you it was a puppy mill it wouldn't make you mad ???

AND ITS NOT ALRIGHT FOR ANYONE TO CULL THEIR DOG STOCK I DON"T CARE THAT YOU DON"T DO IT I CARE THAT IT IS DONE !

This is not BS this is not some rantings from animal activists these are real news paper articles, real research.

[Logan]

Sorry, moderators, but I think this is getting out of hand. Just my 2 cents worth. :( I'm sorry to see it head this way.

[ilovehounds]

Posting for Bonnie, she can stay a little more calm then I can ...lol..


The campaign to help the Iditarod dogs is not a campaign against recreational mushing. Recreational mushing can be fun for both canines and humans. There may be Mushers that do take care of their dogs, but the
ones who don't out number the few that do. If you feel that the statements are not true. I suggest you
write to Jon Saraceno USA Today and Jim Rome at Fox they can be reached at the link below, since they
are the news reporters, that reported on the Iditarod race.

http://www.helpsleddogs.org/remarks.htm
If you feel the Humane Society facts are untrue contact them. You are right every one has a right to their opionion we
are voicing ours.

I was told Labs like to swim but would you have them swim across the lake from the U.S. To Canada...lets be realistic
no dog wants to run 1,150 miles in nine days.

No matter what to many dogs are being abused, the many out number the few. That's all I'm saying
argue with yourself.






How do mushers benefit from running their dogs in the Iditarod?

Many thousands of dollars in prizes are awarded to the winning mushers. The largest prize is given to the musher whose team crosses the finish line first. However, prize money is also given to teams who first reach certain points along the trail. Mushers who are hired to be in corporate advertisements receive substantial financial benefits, as do mushers who reap royalties from the sales of books they write or the speeches they give. These corporations turn their face away from the cruelties the dogs are forced to endure.

More mushers will receive prize money than ever before:

'This year (2000), the Iditarod Trail Committee plans to hand out a record purse of more than $525,000 divided among the top 30 finishers - not just the top 20, as in years past."

- Staff and wire reports, Anchorage Daily News, March 13, 2000


Do many native Alaskans participate in the race?

The Humane Society of the United States says, "With the annual cost of putting together a competitive Iditarod team estimated at up to $60,000, very few native Alaskans are able to participate."



Are Iditarod dogs kept permanently tethered on short chains?
In many kennels, dogs spend their entire lives outside chained up to their dog house. In these musher's kennels, a dog can have a chain as short as four feet long. In 1997, the United States Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) determined that the permanent tethering of dogs, as the primary means of enclosure, was inhumane and not in the animals' best interests. The permanent chaining of dogs is prohibited in all cases where federal law applies.



Some reasons why permanent tethering is cruel are as follows:
1) A dog who is permanently tethered is forced to urinate and defecate where he sleeps, which conflicts with his natural instinct to eliminate away from his living area.

2) Because the chained dog is always close to his own fecal material, he can easily catch deadly parasitical diseases by stepping in or sniffing his own waste. The ground within the dog's chained area may have a high concentration of parasite larvae.

3) Even if the fecal matter is picked up, the area where the dog can move about becomes hard-packed dirt that carries the stench of animal waste. The odor and the waste attract flies which bite the dog's ears, often causing serious bloody wounds and permanent tissue damage.

4) Continuous chaining psychologically damages dogs and makes many of them aggressive animals.



At least 117 dogs have been run to death or have died from other causes in the Iditarod. There is no official count of dog deaths available for the race's early years. "

--The Humane Society of the United States

[Paul]

   I just found this topic. This is very interesting. I would love to know the truth. However, the kindness that is typical of Pet Talk is missing from this topic. I would like to restart this topic once Karen gets back and all of us involved have a chance to discuss the ground rules.

      Paul