2011 Iditarod - PETA complains

2011 Iditarod News (March 8, 2011) - I'm open to people having their own opinions, and I generally support a lot of things that PETA stands for. But when they start saying the Iditarod race needs to be ended, I think they're plain wrong.

In regards to a very dumb thing a dumb person in Canada did in killing their sled dogs when their business suffered because of the bad economy, the Anchorage Daily News reports a PETA "senior campaigner" as saying:

"The best way to stop this abuse from happening is to stop supporting the Iditarod"

Sorry, ma'am, but having seen sled dogs run before, having visited Alaska sled dog kennels, and having been there for the start of the 2011 Iditarod race in Willow, Alaska, I have to say you don't know what you're talking about.

Iditarod musher rules and regulations

Furthermore, if you'll take the time to read all the Iditarod musher rules and regulations, or read my earlier 2011 Iditarod race Lance Mackey story, you'll see that Iditarod mushers and race organizers care very much about their dogs. You can't take an example of one dumb person in Canada and somehow generally apply that to Alaska mushers or Iditarod mushers.

Instead -- at least in my eyes -- what you just did is weaken everything PETA stands for. The next time PETA complains about something I'll remember how wrong you are here, and think "There they go again."

Here's a link to the Anchorage Daily News story.

(Note: I've met a lot of wonderful people from Canada, especially when I was stranded in Dease Lake last year, and the times I've vacationed in Stewart, British Columbia. This article has nothing to do with Canadians, in general.)