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Iditarod Dog Race
#1
It is the season of the Iditarod dog race in Alaska. The race commemorates a mercy run where sled dogs were used to transport diphtheria serum to Nome Alaska to save people from an epidemic.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iditarod_T...d_Dog_Race

One thing to note is that the dogs did the original run as a relay race. It was also a life and death emergency.
Now the route is run as a continuous race with the dogs running the whole distance.
Commemorating the event and honouring the dogs makes sense. However, the Iditarod is a gruelling  race where dogs are killed and injured. Many don't make it. Those who do survive really suffer during the race and after.

PETA has come up with a list of reasons why the race should be stopped.


https://www.peta.org/features/these-reas...-outraged/

All the reasons for stopping the race are good. 
It certainly does nothing to honour the dogs who ran the original trail. It is part of an industry that uses and abuses dogs.
Dogs are over used to the point of injury and excess dogs are killed regularly in the dog sledding industry.
When they are not being used they are given a bare minimum of care or rather lack of care.

Maybe dog sledding is like a lot of other "animal industries". It is time we stopped doing it. We don't want more circus animals. 
The various horse drawn carriages for tourists are gradually being shut down. Now it is time to end dog sledding. It isn't needed and the dogs are not well cared for.  In its own way the Iditarod race is a form of animal slaughter. This year needs to be the last race and the dogs need to be retired.
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Catherine

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#2
The race continues. We may not get much real information about the race and the dogs in it. We are learning about the struggles the race is having with loss of sponsors.  Peta is having an effect. 

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/idi...-1.5492520

The drivers talk about running the race, but it is actually the dogs that do the running. It is a hard life for them. If they could talk, I wonder what they would say. Would they ask for lives that are not so harsh, lives that have some comforts. Even wild animals have warm dens and rest times. No animal would push themselves to run so far if they did not have humans making them do it.
The dogs  might enjoy running, but not so far for so many days without rest.
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Catherine

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#3
Smiley19 Poor dogs..
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#4
The race is still on. All other sports and tourism is cancelled.  Of course out on the trail it is probably impossible to contact the dog teams. 

https://www.adn.com/outdoors-adventure/i...the-trail/

Right now all focus in on the Corona virus. The dogs are very much a secondary concern.
I hope this does not mean the dogs will have more problems.
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Catherine

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