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Are you learning Iditarod as part of your curriculum? Hundreds of dogs start the race every year, forced to haul heavy sleds averaging 100 miles a day with only 40 hours of rest for eight to fourteen days. Half of them got off the route due to illness, injury, or exhaustion while crossing frozen rivers, uneven mountain ranges, dense forests and desert tundra due to piercing winds, blinding snow storms and freezing temperatures. The rest of the dogs will have to work even harder. Since the first Iditarod, 150 dogs have died during the event, including five in 2017 alone, and these are just reported deaths. This does not include everyone else who died in the offseason, being shackled on the street like bicycles, or those who were killed because they lacked the speed and stamina to succeed. The leading cause of death in racing dogs is aspiration pneumonia caused by inhaling their own vomit.
Encourage students to learn about the cruelty in the dog sledding industry and to oppose the use of animals for entertainment. While violent industries are always romanticizing their exploitation of animals, educating students about the entire story according to age can help them form an informed mind. Invite them to watch the following excerpts from the documentary Follow the dogsand engage them in class conversation using appropriate questions.
(Please pay attention: This link to Follow the dogs should not post on social media. Follow the dogs now available on Amazon Prime in the US)
Conditions for keeping dogs on a sledding farm (Excerpt from 27: 12-28: 00)
This video shows the conditions for keeping dogs used in the riding industry. Ask students to pay attention to the number of dogs living in this kennel and how they are treated. Consider the following questions with your students:
- How to prevent these dogs from escaping? (They are tied with a chain attached to a peg in the ground. They can only move as much as their chain allows.)
- How do the living conditions of the dogs in the video differ from the living conditions of the dogs with whom we live in the same house? (Our dogs can live comfortably indoors and can move freely as they please. The dogs in the clip are limited to a small space. They also need to be outdoors all the time, even in rain, frost, blisters, warmth and much more. They have no way to cuddle up to warm bed or being close to a loving caregiver, and no one shows any affection for them.)
Dog sledding and tourism industry (Excerpt from 13: 35-14: 34)
In addition to being forced to race in the Iditarod, dogs are also used in the tourism industry. Consider the following questions with your students:
- How are dogs used for profit? (If students need further guidance, ask them to think about how the dog sledding industry benefits people and whether there are any benefits for dogs. Dogs are used every time a tourist pays for a ride or painting. Are stressed and stressed caused by human pulling and are of no use. In fact, they suffer as a result of being used by humans.)
- Is it ever acceptable to use someone to make money? Explain your answer. (No. And it is wrong that the people who perform these surgeries use dogs for livelihood, forcing them to live in chains outside. Explanations vary.)
Delusions (Trailer from 58: 30-59: 18)
Expose people’s misconceptions about dogs used in the luge industry. Consider the following questions:
- Gina Phillips, co-owner of Krabloonik, the largest dog sledding business in the United States, says, “The most important thing I think we need to inform the public is that there are sled dogs and there are dogs.” Explain why this statement is not true. (There is no such thing as a “sled dog.” These are not “super dogs” or equipment – they are just like the dogs we live with in our homes. All dogs deserve to live indoors, safe from the weather. And others They all deserve love and other needs. Dogs used in the luge industry do not receive the care, attention, and shelter they deserve.)
- In the next part of the video, Mark Butler, the former mayor of Snowmass, Colorado, talks about the internet distribution. She believes that tying up pet dogs is cruel, while tying dogs used in the sledding industry is not. We already know that there is no difference between indoor dogs and sled dogs. Why is binding always cruel? (Tied animals have very little room to move. They may be injured or unable to access food and water if they become entangled in a leash and cannot escape from people or other animals. Who may try to harm them. They have little shelter to protect them from rain, snow, hot sun or cold.)
Animal propaganda in action (Trailer from 30: 30–32: 28)
This video introduces the human rights group Voices of Crab Dogs. Consider the following questions:
- Bill Fabrocini and Lee Vogel are members of Voices of Crab Dogs. Why do you think they decided to stand up for the dogs raised in Krablunik, the institution shown in the video 58: 30–59: 18? (They wanted to change the living conditions of these dogs and make their lives better.)
- How many dogs did Lee say were living in Krablonik when the group counted? (There were 300 dogs tied there at the time.)
- Why did Bill call the place where the dogs lived “the storehouse”? (He states that “the dogs are only here to keep them until [someone] can make money. ” They were left to fend for themselves. Bill could walk on the property without approaching or driving him out. Nobody cared about the dogs’ well-being.)
- Crab dog voices spoke out for dogs at a Snowmass Village Council meeting. Do you think you could use your voice for animals? (Answers will vary. Remind students that they too can attend city council meetings in their area to speak out for the animals. They can also tell adults when they see someone hurting an animal.)
Call to action
It’s important to remember that even the smallest amount of courage can go a long way. Each call to action opens up more opportunities for awareness of issues such as dog sled violence. Students should feel empowered knowing that their voices and actions matter to animals — they move society in a kinder, more empathetic direction.
Empower your students by inviting them to take part in PETA’s latest campaign against Iditarod. Millennium Hotels and Resorts is one of the last major sponsors of the race. Following PETA’s campaigns, ExxonMobil, Jack Daniel’s, Coca-Cola, Alaska Airlines, Chrysler, Wells Fargo and several other major companies cut ties with Iditarod. One way to help the dogs used in the sledding industry is to urge companies not to sponsor violent races. As a class, send emails to Millennium Hotels and Resorts urging the company to end sponsoring Iditarod.
Students could also write postcards that they could send to dogs used in the industry. Ask students to flex their muscles of empathy by writing down what they have to say. They can take it one step further by painting a picture of how a dog’s life would change in a loving home.
Discuss Iditarod with students in grades 6-12 using the following TeachKind function:
Iditarod – the most violent race (grades 6-12)
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