Today Show promotes Iditarod dog sled race

[Guest guest]

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

 

The Today Show promoted the the Iditarod dog sled race by featuring Doug

Swingley, the year 2000 Iditarod race winner, and his dogs. As part of this

promotion, Today Show host, Matt Lauer, allowed Swingley's dogs to pull him

in his sled. Please educate Matt Lauer and the producers of the Today Show

about the cruelties of the Iditarod and the kennels it spawns. Contact

information and a sample letter are provided below:

 

Sample letter:

 

Dear Mr. Lauer:

 

You recently promoted the year 2000 Iditarod dog sled race winner, Doug

Swingley, on the Today Show. The Iditarod is condemned by animal protection

groups across the United States because dog deaths and injuries are common in

the race. Please do not promote or glorify the Iditarod or the mushers who

participate in it.

 

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 Miami and

Washington, DC. Dogs in the Iditarod die from such causes as stress

pneumonia, gastric ulcers, or " Sudden Death Syndrome " --literally running to

death. About a third of the 1,500 dogs who start the race fail to finish

because they become sick, injured, or exhausted. Many of the dogs collapse

at the finish line, and many cannot rise to a standing position to eat for

days. Jon Saraceno, sports columnist for USA Today, called the race

" Ihurtadog " and " an outrage. " George Diaz, sports columnist for the Orlando

Sentinel, referred to the Iditarod as " illegal sweatshop for dogs. "

 

Thirty-eight states and the District of Columbia have anti-cruelty laws that

would make the Iditarod illegal because of overworking an animal. Please

visit the Sled Dog Action Coalition website http://www.helpsleddogs.org to

see pictures and for more information.

 

The Iditarod Trail Committee wants people to think of the Iditarod as a

commemoration of the 1925 Anchorage to Nome diphtheria serum run. However,

there are very few similarities between the two events. Half of the 1925

serum run was done by train. Dogs ran in relays for the remaining 500 or 600

miles, with few dogs running more than 100 miles. In the Iditarod, dogs run

1,150 miles over terrain far more grueling than the terrain found on the

serum run route.

 

The race has led to the proliferation of husky dog kennels in Alaska. In

these kennels, many dogs are treated cruelly. Many kennels have over 100 dogs

and some have as many as 200. None of the kennels is inspected or supervised

by the State of Alaska or by anyone else.

 

It is standard for these 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. Being close to fecal material, a dog can easily catch

deadly parasitical diseases by stepping in or sniffing waste.

 

In their kennels, the dogs are never given the opportunity to run free even

in a fenced in area. Many of them drink water from hard-to reach rusty cans

that are bolted to their doghouses and are rarely cleaned or disinfected.

 

Injured and old, arthritic dogs are kept outside in the winter when the

average daily minimum temperatures range from -24 to 15 degrees Fahrenheit.

It is painful for these dogs to be in the intense cold. Some kennels have few

employees, so that each dog gets little attention.

 

Mushers believe in " culling " or killing unwanted dogs. Dogs who are

permanently disabled in the Iditarod, or who are unwanted for any reason, are

killed with a shot to the head.

 

Please do not promote this cruel race by featuring Iditarod mushers on your

show.

 

Sincerely,

 

Contact Information:

 

Matt Lauer

Today Show

30 Rockefeller Plaza

New York, NY 10112

Phone: 212-664-4444

Fax: 212-664-4085

Email: today