Iditarod Cruelty to Draw Dog Defender to Liberty Broadband’s and F1’s Annual Meetings

For Immediate Release:
June 5, 2023

Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382

At Liberty Broadband’s and Formula One’s (F1) annual meetings tomorrow morning, a PETA staffer will hold executives’ feet to the fire over their refusal to sever ties with the Iditarod race, in which more than 150 dogs have died. Both Liberty Broadband and F1 are part of the Liberty family of companies, which also includes GCI, an Alaskan internet service provider that sponsors the Iditarod to the tune of more than $250,000 annually.

PETA will point out that this year’s race—which had the lowest number of mushers ever—ended in controversy after the winner was caught on video dragging exhausted dogs to a checkpoint. 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.

“Unlike F1 drivers, who choose to compete, dogs used in the Iditarod don’t choose to run 1,000 miles over snow and ice until their paws bleed,” says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. “PETA is calling on Liberty Broadband and F1 to cut ties with the Iditarod’s hideous cycle of torment and death.”

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to use for entertainment” and which opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview—held “plead-ins” at Liberty CEO Greg Maffei’s appearances at events in Beverly Hills, California; Miami; and New York and issued heartfelt appeals for him to end his company’s support of the Iditarod.

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