‘Dog Graveyard’ to Protest Chrysler Over Iditarod Sponsorship

PETA Presence at Philadelphia Auto Show Will Urge Anchorage Dealership to Stop Bankrolling Race That Hurts, Kills Dogs

For Immediate Release:
February 1, 2019

Contact:
Brooke Rossi 202-483-7382

A Chrysler franchise in Anchorage, Alaska, still sponsors the Iditarod—even though 150 dogs have died since the race began—prompting protesters to set up a ghastly “graveyard” of five “dead dogs” lying in front of headstones (engraved with the name, age, and cause of death of each dog who died during the 2017 Iditarod) outside the Philadelphia Auto Show on Saturday. Last year, 350 dogs were pulled from the race, likely because of exhaustion, injury, or illness—and one dog died, apparently from choking on his own vomit, the leading cause of death for dogs in this race. The protesters will hold signs proclaiming, “Chrysler: Stop Driving Dogs to Their Death.”

When:    Saturday, February 2, 12 noon

Where:    Philadelphia Convention Center, 1101 Arch St. (at the Broad Street entrance at the intersection of N. Broad and Cherry streets), Philadelphia

“No company should want its name attached to a race that forces dogs to run so far, so fast, and in such extreme weather conditions that some choke to death on their own vomit,” says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. “PETA is calling on Chrysler to cut ties with the despicable, dog-killing Iditarod.”

PETA, whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to use for entertainment,” notes that hundreds of dogs are pulled from the Iditarod every year because they’re too injured or ill to go on—and countless dogs die immediately after the race, during training, or while chained to plastic barrels outside during the off-season.

Jack Daniel’s recently ended its 15-year Iditarod sponsorship, adding its name to a long list of companies—including Costco, Maxwell House, Nestlé, Pizza Hut, Rite Aid, Safeway, and Wells Fargo—that have cut ties with the race.

For more information, please visit PETA.org.