WE DID IT!!!
When I first posted this petition on another platform in 2017 to oppose the Yukon Government’s funding of the brutal 1,000-mile Yukon Quest Sled Dog Race, people said no one would sign it – no one would care. That was 7 years ago. This is now!
I had set a goal of 150,000 signatures, however that first petition, which had been signed by several thousand supporters on another platform, was hacked sometime in June of 2020 and subsequently removed – most likely by sled dog mushers and/or Yukon Quest supporters.
Today we hit that 150,000 signatures goal! Huge thank you to all for signing, sharing and donating to this petition and helping to create an awareness of the horror show that is sled dog racing. Thank you for standing tall and steadfast and shining a spotlight on the plight of the Northern sled dogs who suffer and die in sled dog races. Together we have created a worldwide awareness that can never be unspoken!
The Petition Has Now Reached Hundreds of Thousands of People Worldwide!
The petition itself has been viewed on two petition platforms nearly half a million times! It has also been shared and re-shared in every country in the world including Antarctica, and across all social media platforms and in countless animal rights advocacy groups, raising that number to an estimated a one million views!
In 2017 when I set out to create awareness of the sled dogs who suffer in silence their suffering was ignored and I was mocked. Today their suffering is being recognized and strongly objected to on a global scale! Many people now equate sled dog racing to other exploitative events and situations in which animals suffer and die like bull fighting and in zoos, aquariums, rodeos, greyhound racing, polo games and fox hunting. It’s about time! With knowledge comes change. We can always do better.
I wish to acknowledge dear friend and fellow animal rights advocate Dianne Bromley who encouraged me to post a petition online for the sled dogs. She knew I had a serious reading/learning disorder but encouraged me to reach out saying she was confident I could do it and eventually I believed her. I owe her a debt of gratitude.
Sadly Diane, who was a strong voice for animals, lost her own battle with cancer on March 9th 2020. Dianne Bromley believed that we can all make a difference. Let’s keep her legacy alive!
It’s true that animal rights advocates like myself are not especially appreciated in the Yukon where the main source of employment is the Yukon Government who also happens to be the main sponsor of the Yukon Quest. So that if you live in the Yukon and choose to take a stand against sled dog racing you might possibly jeopardize that promotion you were hoping for. When you live in a small town like Whitehorse, chances are you will also have friends, colleagues, relatives and neighbours who support sled dog racing.
Well I may have been vilified in my homeland for being an animal rights advocate but I remain firm. I may stand alone but I will always speak out for the sled dogs or for any animal who is being exploited and abused and I hope you will too.
The Yukon Government has remained unresponsive to countless numbers of petition supporters including myself who have attempted to contact them regarding their continued sponsorship of the barbaric Yukon Quest. I have also personally met with two Yukon MP’s and was offered little more than a bit of lip service with no follow-up.
Toss in the fact that the Yukon Government does not allow online petitions to be tabled in the legislature even though they allow them in Ottawa and that pretty much makes it a closed shop. So it’s a bit of a standoff.
We are the stewards of the creatures with whom we share this planet and it’s up to us to honour, to respect, and to protect them. Animals are precious sentient beings who feel love, joy, fear and pain just like we do. Northern sled dogs are in desperate need of enforceable laws that will make it illegal for anyone to exploit, abuse, torture, and kill them for personal gain.
It’s Time for the Yukon Government to Stand Up and Face the Malamutes!
So we await a response from the decision maker named on this petition, the Honourable Ranj Pillai, Premier of Yukon. We've been waiting a long time for change. Sadly during that time even more sled dogs have suffered and died.
If the Yukon Government agrees to drop sponsorship of this barbaric event the race will fold. If there is no response from the Yukon Government the media will likely become involved. Either way I will post an update regarding any news.
In the meantime keep shining a light and speaking out for those who have no voice. "because i am a sled dog"
Wishing all the best of the Festive Season. ~ Sigóowu Kíswas from the Yukon!
Truth and the Hard Grit About Sled Dog Racing
*This update is posted in memory of over 40 dogs who have died in the 1,000-mile Yukon Quest Death Race and for Boppy the Sled Dog who was run to death & choked on his own vomit in minus -55 degrees near Clinton Creek YT on February 11 2019.
*This CBC news article Dog Dies in Yukon Quest - Dog Dies in Yukon Quest - CBC doesn’t mention all the dogs Hugh Neff has run to death. Or that five year old sled dog Boppy was run to death in minus -55 below near Dawson City and that the necropsy revealed he was underweight and had a gutfull of worms - not fit to go for a walk much less a thousand mile race in bitter cold. The 'race vets' are a joke.