ALERT: Who's promoting Iditarod dog torture in 2004?

[Guest guest]

PLEASE CROSSPOST

 

From The Sled Dog Action Coalition, <A HREF= " http://www.helpsleddogs.org " >

http://www.helpsleddogs.org</A>

 

Brutal dog-torture continues at the hands of hardhearted Iditarod mushers.

Please help the dogs who are forced to run in the Iditarod dog sled race by

sending protest emails to race sponsors and promoters. The Iditarod has a long

documented history of dog deaths, illnesses and injuries. On average, 54% of the

dogs who start the race do not even make it across the finish line. Of those

that do, 81% have lung damage.

 

Many dogs who are permanently injured 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.

 

Below is a list of organizations that are 2004 Iditarod race sponsors, musher

sponsors or Iditarod promoters. Emails are first given in block form and then

individually under the sample letter. Please blind copy the email addresses

(email addresses with semi-colons in block form can be found on <A

HREF= " http://www.helpsleddogs.org/sponsors.htm " >http://www.helpsleddogs.org/spon\

sors.htm

</A> on the bottom of the page):

 

DaimlerChrysler_Customer_Assistance_Center,

ir.dcx, pressinquiries,

heyer, NewsOutback, marketing,

investorrelations, investors, media,

rames, pubaffmr,

enterprise.comments, mike.gannon, leo.kiely,

obrown,

ptalamantes, chendricks, mbutler,

SFVSA,

Customer.Service, info, sales,

sales, mstewart,

investor_relations, info, dawn.mccall,

pandit.wright,

teachersource, viewer, Customer.Service,

newsmedia, registration,

editors, polson, gunter.thielen,

ecousens, wpesce, tony.wheeler,

talk2us, atpfeedback, hunterp,

dm, jsisk, msft,

rrt, agilmour, john.devine,

tricon.investor,

IRglobal, mail,

discoverywww, joyce, annie,

myer, asc_mkt, bonnie_ingraham,

info, jdc, info,

rambler,

info, info,

international, info, info,

redpaw,

JBbradley, neisgar2,

pointmanl, manager, rlhaynes,

teast, microair, ktreinen,

stvhr, phillip.bayt,

phillip.genetos, art.kalleres,

Sheila.David,

pxjones, gear, info,

AskMMs, MMsWorld, ethel.us, info,

bhorsey, yukonwind, lodgepol,

cfuelling, gene, gene,

jrautenberg, cconner, pam.sees,

pbschool, sweber, crestview,

sgraves,

robert_lumpkins, districtadministration,

dccl,

fenleyann, springdl, geraldb,

KellyB, bschmidt, info,

vicepresident, treasurer,

zvezda, leb7282, pikelegal,

prairiedogsupply, sales, sales,

contactus, smokey, richard.edwards,

inv-rel, office, business,

genevieve.dion, petfood,

info, info, michael.moe,

dquazzo, chayssen,

bkirkpatrick, windigo,

marie-pierre.grenier,

steve.cowing, patty_vanderlin,

marcr.lacroix, site.operator,

sheila.schaeffer, msnhst,

eduardos, scottz,

strategicaccounts,

pet.care, microsoftcom_contactus,

tmunz, pFaulstich, dMcNulty, info,

ir, procermexlt, kesewell,

info, info, presidente.giunta, ra,

jkern,

lhbroadus, sales, bruce.riggins,

melissa.thompson, pf,

ryoung, distributorservices,

newsroom,

ir,

emailbag, amy_dunkin

 

PLEASE PERSONALIZE SAMPLE LETTER (If you will be boycotting, please say so.):

 

Dear

 

I understand your organization sponsors or promotes the Iditarod dog sled

race, and I want to bring some facts to your attention. This race is

condemned by

animal protection groups and 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, which is the approximate distance between Los Angeles and

Seattle, over a grueling terrain in 8 to 15 days. 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 and be sure to read the quotes on <A

HREF= " http://www.helpsleddogs.org/remarks.htm " >http://www.helpsleddogs.org/remar\

ks.htm</A>

.. All the material on the site is true and verifiable.

 

At least 120 dogs have died in the Iditarod. There is no official count of

dog deaths available for the race's early years. Causes of death have

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.

 

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.

 

On average, 54% of the dogs who start the race do not even make it across the

finish line. Of those that finish, 81% have lung damage.

 

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 horrific 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.

 

Iditarod dogs are unhappy prisoners with no chance of parole. Please end your

organization's association with the Iditarod dog sled race.

 

Sincerely,

 

2004 IDITAROD SPONSORS

 

Daimler Chrysler

Email: ir.dcx,

DaimlerChrysler_Customer_Assistance_Center

 

Coca-Cola

Email: pressinquiries, heyer

 

Outback Steakhouse

Email NewsOutback

 

Millennium & Copthorne Hotels

Email: marketing

 

Wells Fargo & Company

Email: investorrelations

 

Kroger Co. (Fred Meyer Stores)

Email: investors

 

ChevronTexaco Corportation

Email: pubaffmr

 

Exxon Mobil Corporation

Email: enterprise.comments

 

Coors Brewing Company

Email: leo.kiely, mike.gannon

 

Brown-Forman Corp. (Jack Daniels)

Email: obrown

 

Mc Clatchy Company (Anchorage Daily News)

Email: ptalamantes, chendricks

 

Providence Health System

Email: MButler, SFVSA

 

Cabelas (sporting goods)

Email: Customer.Service

 

Comtec Business Systems

Email: info

 

AVID Microchips

Email: sales

 

Global Information Technologies

Email: sales

 

Alaska Airlines

Email: newsroom, ir

 

2004 IDITAROD RACE PROMOTERS

 

Carnival Corporation (Princess Cruises)

Email: media, rames

 

Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc.

Email: mstewart

 

 

Scholastic Corporation

Email: investor_relations

 

Bain Capital (Co-owns Houghton Mifflin, a company that promotes the Iditarod

to children)

Email: info

 

Travel Channel (Discovery Networks)

Email: dawn.mccall, pandit.wright

 

 

PBS Teacher Source

Email: teachersource, viewer

 

EF Educational Tours

Email: Customer.Service

 

Elderhostel, Inc.

Email: newsmedia, registration

 

 

Fodor's Travel Publications (Random House, Bertelsmann)

Email: editors, polson,

gunter.thielen

 

Frommer's Guides, For Dummies (John Wiley & Sons, Inc.)

Email: ecousens, wpesce

 

Lonely Planet Publications

Email: tony.wheeler, talk2us

 

Travel Smart Books (Avalon Travel Publications)

Email: atpfeedback

 

Hunter Travel Guides (Hunter Publishing)

Email: hunterp

 

Greystone Books (Douglas McIntyre Publishing Group)

Email: dm

 

TIME for Kids

Email: emailbag, amy_dunkin

 

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.

Email: jsisk

 

Petplace.com (Intelligent Content, Corp.)

Email: scottz, scottz

 

2004 MUSHER SPONSORS

 

Microsoft Corporation

Email: msft, rrt, msnhst,

microsoftcom_contactus

 

Ford Motor Company

Email: agilmour

 

General Motors

Email: john.devine

 

Taco Bell/Denali Foods (Franchisor: Yum! Brands, Inc.)

Email: tricon.investor

 

UGI Corporation (AmeriGas)

Email: strategicaccounts

 

Global Outdoors, Inc. (Outdoor Channel)

Email: IRglobal

 

Northern Outfitters

Email: mail

 

Montessori Discovery School

Email:discoverywww

 

Udelhoven Companies (Udelhoven Oilfield System)

Email: joyce

 

Patrick Henry Creative Promotions

Email: annie, myer

 

American Seafoods Group

Email: asc_mkt

 

Manchester Elementary School

Email: bonnie_ingraham

 

Annamaet Petfoods

Email: info

 

Eagle Premium Pet Foods/Eagle Pet Products, Inc.

Email: jdc

 

Breg, Inc.

Email: info

 

Caribou Creek Gold Dog Food

Email: rambler

 

Dogbooties.com (a division of Arrowhead Fabric)

Email: info

 

Cold Spot Feeds

Email: info

 

Grabber Performance Group

Email: international

 

Blackwood Dog Food (The Blackwood Corporation)

Email: info

 

Batteries.com

Email: info

 

Sofast.net Toll free: 1-877-7-Sofast

 

Redpaw Feeds

Email: redpaw

 

Benton Elementary

Email: JBbradley

 

Lowe's Home Improvement (Lowe's Companies, Inc.)

Email: manager

 

AdvoCare

Email: rlhaynes

 

Eagle Elementary

Email: teast

 

Micro Air, Inc.

Email: microair

 

Durbin Elementary School

Email: ktreinen

 

St. Vincent Sports Medicine Center (St Vincent Hospital)

Email: stvhr

 

Ice Miller Legal & Business Advisors

Email: phillip.bayt, art.kalleres

 

Abraham Lincoln Elementary School

Email: Sheila.David

 

Chesapeake Siberian Husky Club

Email: pxjones

 

Downwind Sports

Email: gear

 

Isis Clothing

Email: info

 

Masterfoods (Mars, Inc.)

Email: site.operator, AskMMs, MMsWorld,

ethel.us, pet.care

 

Northern California Siberian Husky Club, Inc.

Email: info

 

Siberian Huskie Club of Greater Detroit

Email: bhorsey, yukonwind

 

Siberian Husky Club of Greater Chicago

Email: lodgepol

 

Union Elementary School

Email: cfuelling

 

Fogtech

Email: gene, gene

 

Hickory Center Elementary School

Email: sheila.schaeffer

 

Frater ( " Brother " ) Joseph F. Rautenberg

Email: jrautenberg

 

Triton Elementary School

Email: cconner

 

Oak View Elementary School

Email: pam.sees

 

Precious Blood School

Email: pbschool

 

St. Luke Catholic School

Email: sweber

 

Crestview Elementary School

Email: crestview

 

Neil A. Armstrong Elementary School

Email: sgraves

 

Cargill Animal Nutrition (Cargill, Incorporated)

Email: robert_lumpkins, patty_vanderlin

 

Argyle Lions Club (Lions Clubs International)

Email: districtadministration

 

Dane County Conservation League

Email: dccl

 

Mt. Horeb Intermediate School

Email: fenleyann

 

Springdale Lutheran Church Sunday School

Email: springdl

 

Argyle Elementary School

Email: geraldb, KellyB

 

Leggee Elementary School

Email: bschmidt

 

Free Spirit Siberian Husky Rescue

Email: info

 

Bay Area Siberian Husky Club

Email: vicepresident, treasurer

 

Siberian Husky Club of Metropolitan Dallas

Email: zvezda, leb7282

 

Pike Legal Group

Email: pikelegal

 

Prairie Dog Supply Co.

Email: prairiedogsupply

 

Edmund Industrial Optics

Email: sales

 

Yummy Chummies Salmon Treats

Email: sales

 

Melanzana Outdoor Fleece Clothing

Email: contactus, smokey

 

Polaris Industries, Inc. (makes snowmobiles, watercraft, ATVs, utility

vehicles)

Email: richard.edwards

 

Gargoyle Sun Glasses (Gargoyles, Inc.)

Email: inv-rel, webmaster

 

Groenewold Fur and Wool Company

Email: office

 

Affinity Advance Pet Food (Agrolimen)

Email: business

 

Ski-Doo Snowmobiles, Bombardier ATVs (Bombardier Recreational Products)

Email: genevieve.dion,

marie-pierre.grenier,

steve.cowing,

marcr.lacroix

 

Champion Pet Food, Ltd.

Email: petfood

 

American Dehydrated Foods, Inc.

Email: info

 

National Dog Food

Email: info

 

Think Equity

Email: michael.moe, dquazzo,

chayssen

 

Wilshire Park Elementary School

Email: bkirkpatrick

 

Windigo Outfitters in Iron River

Email: windigo

 

Loyola Academy

Email: tmunz, pFaulstich, dMcNulty

 

Corona Extra Beer (Grupo Modelo, S.A. de C.V.)

Email: procermexlt, ir

 

Napapijri

Email: info

 

Bamber Valley Elementary School

Email: kesewell

 

Kefas Outward Call

Email: info, info

 

Autonomous Region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia Italy

Email: presidente.giunta, angelo.baiguera

 

Anchorage Sheraton (MeriStar Hospitality, Corp.)

Email: bruce.riggins, melissa.thompson

 

Oakridge School

Email: jkern, lhbroadus

 

Envia Corporation

Email: sales, distributorservices

 

CMP - Net Solutions

Email: ra

 

Pheasants Forever

Email: pf, ryoung

 

Amaize (Marsland Laboratories)

Email message box: http://www.amaize.com/dealer_inq.htm

 

Visit: <A HREF= " http://www.helpsleddogs.org/sponsors.htm " >

http://www.helpsleddogs.org/sponsors.htm</A> for complete contact information.