The Iditarod Truth

The Iditarod Started Saturday in Alaska

From the Sled Dog Action Coalition: “The Iditarod is a dog sled race held every March in Alaska. The 2006 Iditarod will begin on March 4. In this race mushers (dog sled drivers) force their dogs to run 1,150 miles from Anchorage to Nome in 8 to 15 days over a grueling terrain. This is the approximate distance between Los Angeles and Seattle, New York City and Miami, Chicago and Houston. Mushers press their dogs to run at ever increasing speeds, so that the dogs get little rest or sleep. The current speed record is 8 days, 22 hours and 46 minutes, less than half the time it took to run the first Iditarod race. No dog wants to run so far and so fast.”

Any animal lover should look into what this 1,100 mile race really involves and what price the dogs have to pay for “tradition”. To quote Gryphen (who lives in Alaska) over at The Immoral Minority:

“I helped a teacher from my school exercise her team when I was about nineteen. I helped hook the dogs up after we pulled them from these tiny little compartments attached to the bed of their pickup truck. The compartments were so small that the dogs could barely turn around once inside of them. When they came out they were so excited that their legs started running before I placed them on the ground. Once their feet touched the snow they pulled mightily to escape from me. I had to hold on tight or else they would escape. And that is the real truth behind sled dog racing.

These dogs are not athletes. They are not pets. They are prisoners.”

Would you like to learn more?