GCI to Face Pressure From PETA at Annual Meeting Over Iditarod Cruelty

For Immediate Release:
June 7, 2024

Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382

On Monday morning at the annual meeting of Liberty Broadband—which owns local internet service provider GCI—PETA will confront company leaders over GCI’s shameful distinction of being one of the last remaining top sponsors of the cruel Iditarod, a race in which more than 150 dogs have died. GCI sponsors the Iditarod to the tune of more than $250,000 annually.

PETA will point out that during this year’s race, at least three dogs collapsed and died on the trail within about 48 hours of one another. Five dogs died and eight others were injured during training before this year’s event, and more than 200 who started the race were too ill, exhausted, or injured to finish. The Iditarod has been the subject of ever-growing controversy, including this year, when race officials initially failed to act after two mushers slated to compete were accused of sexual assault and domestic violence. More than a dozen companies have abandoned their Iditarod sponsorships after hearing from PETA and seeing documentation of the grossly inhumane conditions endured by dogs during and between races.

“At least three more dogs have been added to the Iditarod’s death toll, and the top brass at GCI continues to prop up a race that runs exhausted dogs into the ground,” says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. “PETA is calling on GCI to stop funding this despicable dog death race and drop its sponsorship of the Iditarod now.”

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to abuse in any way”—points out that Every Animal Is Someone and offers free Empathy Kits for people who need a lesson in kindness. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow the group on X, Facebook, or Instagram.