Sled Dog Watchdog: Yukon Quest

Mushers kissing their dogs in numerous 'photo-ops'; excited, 'happy-looking' dogs with lolling tongues
(the Quest prefers that they are referred to as 'athletes'); the ice-encrusted facial hair of mushers: these
are some of the images that the Yukon Quest (and its 'big brother,' Alaska's Iditarod race) sell to the
public as testimony of the toughness of dog mushers, and the so-called 'special bond' between the
musher and his or her dogs. The more realistic images to consider are those of the dogs being driven in
unbelievably-cold weather, breathing freezing air (thereby damaging their lungs and airways); dogs being
literally driven to their deaths (about 130 dogs have died in the Iditarod - since its inception, the Yukon
Quest is responsible for killing many dogs during the race - although the Quest has an 'expired dog' policy
on its website, there are no statistics on dog deaths and causes of death, or the names of the dogs); dogs
being injured, or being made to run while injured or with serious illness; dogs that are driven hard for
over a hundred miles a day and for long hours at a stretch.

Unknown numbers of dogs die during training (a young Yukon Quest musher had three dogs die horribly,
in a collision with an automobile in December of 2005 - the musher admitted to CBC Radio that she was
driving at night without her headlamp while training for the 2006 Quest), and after the race is over. Are
the Yukon Quest mushers brave? Of course there is an element of this in the psyche of the mushers, but
there is an equal or greater amount of recklessness as a motivating factor in why they are driven to
compete in this race. This recklessness endangers the health and lives of dogs.

Competitive mushers engage in breeding experimentation to develop 'the perfect athlete,' with few dogs
who can live up to the near-unattainable genetic standards; mushers are secretive about their culling
practices, and Yukon Quest organizers seem to have a "don't ask-don't tell (don't care)" policy. The dogs,
when not racing or training, are tied up on short chains for long periods of time. In large kennels, only
the 'top dogs' may receive regular attention and human contact. On the rare occasion that the Quest is
criticized, no public or other response is given, even though the major funding for the race comes from
public (government) sources.

Quest mushers have long complained about the comparably smaller prize money and its distribution
among the finishers, in comparison to the Iditarod. What is not mentioned, however is the fact that racing
in the Yukon Quest serves as powerful advertising for mushers who can use that distinction as a
promotional tool for their dog sled tour businesses, for selling dogs and puppies from their kennels, or
for other sled dog-related commercial ventures.

Little information about negative aspects regarding the health of Yukon Quest dogs has been published.
However, in 2002, a study in the in American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine reported
that 81% of the 59 dogs they examined after one Iditarod had "abnormal accumulations" of mucus or
cellular debris in their lower airways. In addition to fluid in the lungs, bleeding stomach ulcers occur, as
does general cramping, dislocations, fractures, muscle and tendon tears, tendonitis, dehydration,
hypothermia, raw paws, penile frostbite and viruses. Female dogs may run while 'in heat' or during
pregnancy; it is common for dogs to vomit or suffer from diarrhea from the extreme stress (including
from their body temperatures overheating) they are forced to undergo, while running long distances.

Another important negative aspect to consider it that the existence of the Quest encourages ill-prepared
and ill-suited prospective mushers to develop their own kennels for purposes of competing in the race,
causing more suffering to innocent dogs. Yukon Quest and Iditarod mushers do not deserve to be held up
as 'role models' for young mushers because of their overall treatment of dogs during the races and
throughout the rest of the year. A famous female Iditarod musher stated that she had "raised 300 dogs to
get five good ones." There are a lot of terrible things that happen out of the public eye which bring harm
to sled dogs that would turn the average dog lover off of supporting these events.

The ('Animal welfare') position statement on sled dog racing from Humane Society of the United
States:

"The HSUS opposes the Iditarod in its current form - or any other mushing event in which
heavy emphasis is placed on competition and entertainment and in which dog deaths and
injuries are regular consequences. The HSUS is not opposed to non-competitive mushing or
competitive mushing events in which the welfare of dogs is not sacrificed for the sake of
entertainment."

April, 2009 UPDATE: The Humane Society of the United States has removed its Iditarod page from the
HSUS web site, thereby 'selling out' the welfare of the dogs who are used in the Iditarod race. The
organization picked a great time to do so, a year in which 6 dogs were killed in the Iditarod. This is what
the HSUS's pitiful new stance is:

At least one animal welfare group -- the Humane Society of the United States -- no longer actively
campaigns against the Iditarod, although officials aren't endorsing it either.

They acknowledge, however, the event's significance in commemorating the work of dog teams that were
sent on the trail in 1925 to bring diphtheria serum to Nome to combat a deadly outbreak.

"I would like to see the Iditarod celebrate the history and culture of the event and not be just a timed
event, but they're trying to make it as safe as they can for both the animals and humans," said Dave Pauli,
the humane society's Western region director.

Anchorage Daily News, March 21, 2009: http://www.adn.com/news/alaska/story/731615.html

The HSUS apparently has a bit more 'sanitizing' to do on its website regarding the Iditarod. On the HSUS
press release dated January 17, 2002 'HSUS Cautions Moviegoers Against Husky Purchases' (regarding
'Snow Dogs' movie), the following passage appears:

The HSUS is also concerned about the message Snow Dogs conveys about the Iditarod Sled Dog Race, a
one to two-week-long extreme endurance race that begins this year on Saturday, March 2 in Anchorage
and will end more than 1,000 miles later in Nome. Mushing can be a wonderful way to exercise and bond
with huskies; however, the Iditarod's extreme physical and psychological stress on the dogs and the
dangerous conditions of the race have resulted in at least one canine death during nearly every Iditarod
race, with some years' death tolls reaching five or six dogs. During its 29 years, at least 114 dogs have
died in the Iditarod.

"Despite the fact that canine Iditarod competitors face mortality rates that would be unacceptable for
human competitors and often experience abuse, neglect, and culling (killing of non-competitive pups)
during the remainder of the year," says Sodergren, "Snow Dogs treats extreme endurance sled dog
racing in a light-hearted manner, sending the wrong message to audience members about
this inhumane sport."

It is very mystifying why the abrupt attitude change happened in 2009, but it is entirely fair to speculate
that it had something to do with the hiring of author John Balzar in 2006. The HSUS press release of Mr.
Balzar's hiring mentioned among his accomplishments, the writing of the book 'Yukon Alone', a book that
glorifies the Yukon Quest, a book which Balzar still profits from. Read excerpts from the book and ask
yourself why, after following the 1998 Quest race trail, Balzar would be such a big fan of the Yukon
Quest.

'The Six Principles of the Animal Rights' Position:

1. The animal rights position maintains that all sentient beings, humans or nonhuman, have one right:
the basic right not to be treated as the property of others.

2. Our recognition of the one basic right means that we must abolish, and not merely regulate,
institutionalized animal exploitation–because it assumes that animals are the property of humans.

3. Just as we reject racism, sexism, ageism, and homophobia, we reject speciesism. The species of a
sentient being is no more reason to deny the protection of this basic right than race, sex, age, or sexual
orientation is a reason to deny membership in the human moral community to other humans.

4. We recognize that we will not abolish overnight the property status of nonhumans, but we will support
only those campaigns and positions that explicitly promote the abolitionist agenda. We will not support
positions that call for supposedly “improved” regulation of animal exploitation. We reject any campaign
that promotes sexism, racism, homophobia or other forms of discrimination against humans.

5. We recognize that the most important step that any of us can take toward abolition is to adopt the
vegan lifestyle and to educate others about veganism. Veganism is the principle of abolition applied to
one’s personal life and the consumption of any meat, fowl, fish, or dairy product, or the wearing or use of
animal products, is inconsistent with the abolitionist perspective.

6. We recognize the principle of nonviolence as the guiding principle of the animal rights movement.

Gary L. Francione
© 2007 Gary L. Francione

Races like the Iditarod and Yukon Quest violate accepted standards regarding animal cruelty as is shown
by the laws of 38 states and the District of Columbia. These 38 states and the District of Columbia have
animal anti-cruelty laws that say "overdriving" and "overworking" an animal is animal cruelty. The
California law is typical:

"597. Cruelty to animals: (B) Every person who overdrives, overloads, drives when overloaded,
overworks... any animal... is, for every such offense, guilty of a crime punishable as a misdemeanor or as
a felony or alternatively punishable as a misdemeanor or a felony and by a fine of not more than twenty
thousand dollars ($20,000)."

[Source: Animal Welfare Institute, Animals and Their Legal Rights]

The dog deaths and injuries that occur in the Yukon Quest and Iditarod serve as ample testimony that
these dogs are "overworked" and "overdriven." If these races were staged in any of these 38 states or the
District of Columbia, they would be illegal under the animal cruelty laws of those jurisdictions.

The Yukon's Animal Protection Act (Section 1-definitions) defines "distress" as the state of

(a) being in need of proper care, food, shelter, or water; (b) being injured, sick or in pain or suffering, or
(c) being abused or subject to undue or necessary hardship, privation or neglect.

While a good argument could be made that the state of some mushers' dog yards (completely
unregulated and not subject to inspection by animal protection officers) in the Yukon would contravene
subsection (a), the running of the Yukon Quest would most definitely contravene both subsections (b) and
(c). Furthermore, in Section 3 of the act (Prohibition against causing or permitting distress), no person
shall:

(1) cause an animal to be or to continue to be in distress; or (2) no person who is the owner or the
person in charge of an animal shall permit the animal to be or continue to be in distress.

In subsection (3), the Yukon legislation seems to give sanction to cruel events like the Quest by stating
that: "Subsections (1) and (2) do not apply if the distress results from an activity carried on in accordance
with reasonable and generally accepted practices of animal management, husbandry or slaughter provided
that these practices are carried out in a humane manner." The Yukon Quest organization may feel safe
with this disclaimer, but when it comes to future dog deaths, injuries, or acts of animal cruelty
perpetrated by Quest mushers, board members of the Yukon Quest should not 'bet the farm on it,' were
the legislation to be tested in a court of law.

When it comes to sled dogs, there is something amiss in Yukon/Alaskan society - a society that is
alternately blindly enthusiastic about the Quest, or is simply willfully ignorant and uncaring that the race
inflicts suffering on the dogs, and, to some people, thereby brings disrepute to the name 'Yukon.' Were
citizens of the Yukon and Alaska to take the time to think of what they are supporting when they support
the Yukon Quest (and the Iditarod), they would come to a realization that they are, in fact, condoning
animal cruelty.

[Ed. Note - In my personal experience, I perceive that a common attitude among people who I know to
be dog lovers hold toward Yukon Quest dogs (or sled dogs in general) is that they do not feel that these
dogs are 'normal dogs' like their own canine companions - they are WORKING DOGS and therefore do not
deserve the same compassion and level of care afforded to their beloved animals. The fact is that Yukon
Quest sled dogs are primarily bred by mushers for the cold-hearted purposes of winning money and for
gaining the adulation of sled dog racing fans.]

The Yukon Quest is well-entrenched in Yukon society. From young children being indoctrinated into
becoming Yukon Quest supporters by their school teachers, to the support provided by Yukon politicians,
Yukon media, the territorial government, prominent members of the community and business leaders, the
'deck is stacked' against the likelihood of bring an end to the exploitation of dogs used as sled dogs.

Humane-minded individuals and businesses (let alone the various levels of government) in the Yukon
should not support the Yukon Quest, in its current form. Their financial support and volunteer time would
be better directed towards helping their local animal shelters, actively working to improve the state of
animal welfare in Yukon communities, or being applied to other (more deserving) charitable
organizations.