TELL SPONSORS OF THE DEADLY YUKON QUEST & THE YUKON GOVERNMENT TO STOP FUNDING ANIMAL ABUSE!

As the next deadly Yukon Quest 1,000-mile sled dog race approaches I am recovering from a brain hemorrhage I suffered on November 6th and ask you to keep the spotlight shining on the plight of the northern sled dogs. We need to create a strong global awareness and expose the truth about long distance sled dog racing. The world needs to know the truth. With knowledge comes change.

The Ugly Truth – First-hand Accounts 

Susan Butcher pioneer for women in sled-dog racing: “The race should not be a race! The original serum run was done in relays. It is what happens “BEHIND THE SCENES” during the rest of the year that needs to be told…. The breeding, culling [killing] and poor treatment needs to be exposed.”

Ethel D. Christensen founder Alaska SPCA: “This is the reality that people who go dog sledding never see. The concentration camp conditions on which our 4 legged friends are forced to live. Please share so we can educate the public and end the industry.”

Andrea Kelly former Yukoner: “People cannot believe it until witnessed. I was so naive when I moved to the Yukon, thinking all sled dogs were a happy lot. Then the truth slapped me in the face & my romantic notions were shattered. When the Yukon Quest race ended in Whitehorse I was visiting the teams while the mushers were warm in a bar celebrating. The dogs had been thru hell and back, left waiting in the freezing cold, leaning into my legs for warmth and love while attached to little rods on the trucks. My tears started to freeze.”

The Death Toll Keeps Rising: In 2016 a dog named Polar died during the Yukon Quest. In 2017 a dog named Firefly died. In 2018 another dog named Boppy died in -55 below when he choked to death on his own vomit. They all died in agony. Northern sled dogs are some of the worst abused animals on the face of the planet. The Yukon Quest averages one dog death per race – sometimes as many as four. Others go unreported – dying after the race from their injuries or by being routinely culled – shot, throat slit or drowned. How many dogs will die this year? Meanwhile the Yukon Government & the media continues to brainwash the public into believing that this event is all just good family fun. Running dogs to death is NOT good family fun! long-distance-sled-dog-racing/

What You Can Do: Make a donation to this petition to help promote it and keep it in the spotlight. Contact the Yukon Government and the sponsors. Get in their face and ask them why they continue to sponsor blatant animal abuse! If they try to feed you the line about how ‘the dogs are well cared for’ ask them - if the dogs are so well-cared for why are they dying during the race?

Tell the World! Speak out to educate and raise awareness. Talk to your friends, your family, your co-workers, students, teachers, fellow advocates, activists, and the media. Invite them to join in the fight to honour the sled dogs and end the barbaric Yukon Quest.

HIT THE SPONSORS! We need to put the pressure on! This unholy event is a huge cash cow fueled by money greed and ego with many stake-holders and their focus is not the welfare of the dogs! Several major sponsors of the equally deadly Alaskan Iditarod have recently pulled funding including State Farm, Wells Fargo, Jack Daniels and Guggenheim Partners due to the action of protestors. No sponsors = no race.

Contact the Sponsors! ~~> Yukon Quest 2019 sponsors Send them an email and attach a copy of the necropsy report from the Yukon Quest's own website that details the appalling condition of Boppy the Sled Dog when he died in last year’s race and clearly shows that the pretense of ‘caring veterinarians’ in this race is an absolute sham! The shocking condition that race vets allow the dogs to run a 1,000 miles in is obvious. ~~> https://yukonquest.com/news/final-necropsy-report-boppy-hugh-neffs-dog

Flood the Yukon Government with 50,000 Emails! Sandy Silver conveniently turns a blind eye as the sled dogs pay with their blood. Tell the Yukon Government to stop funding blatant animal abuse! Contact the Yukon premier who campaigned under the slogan “Be Heard!” and promised, “Your concerns are going to be acted upon!” Ask him why he continues to ignore 50,000 petitioners who strongly oppose his use of tax payer’s money to fund an event in which animals suffer and die. Remind him that the world is watching and the exploitation and abuse of defenseless sled dogs will no longer be tolerated. Contact Sandy Silver at: premier@gov.yk.ca. Also on Twitter and Facebook.

My newly-released book “it’s howlin’ time!” features a section about the plight of the sled dogs. Available on Amazon it's howlin' time! Amazon

The next race starts on February 2nd in Whitehorse. I’m counting on you to continue fighting for the sled dogs. They deserve so much better! This petition has now been signed by over 50,000 people from 150 countries on all 7 continents around the world! Let’s shoot that number up to 75,000 and let them know we won’t back down! Keep promoting this petition – there’s power in numbers. And say a prayer for the sled dogs. They need it. Yukon Poet Laureate

“When you speak for the voiceless your soul smiles.” –pj johnson Poet Laureate of the Yukon