PETA Statement: Iditarod ‘Winner’ Is a Champion of Pain and Suffering

For Immediate Release:
March 12, 2024

Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382

Below, please find a statement from PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman in response to Dallas Seavey winning the 2024 Iditarod today:

Dallas Seavey, who literally wrote the book on abusing dogs, may have finished first, but he cemented his legacy as a champion of pain and suffering. Three dogs, including one belonging to his kennel, collapsed and died on the trail this year as their exhausted bodies were pushed beyond the breaking point, and their blood is on the hands of the mushers, Liberty Media, and every other sponsor of this death race. Six dogs used by Seavey had to be pulled from the race after he drove them into the ground. These animals include Faloo, who was critically injured by a moose and left to suffer for an agonizing eight hours as Seavey prioritized reaching the next checkpoint over going back so that the dog could be provided with urgent medical care. When the exhausted dogs return home, Seavey will reward them by chaining them up to wooden boxes in the blistering cold. PETA is calling for an immediate end to this nightmare before any more corpses are added to the towering pile this race has already amassed.

This year’s Iditarod has been the deadliest in recent years. Five dogs were killed in snowmachine incidents before this year’s race even began. (Another eight were injured.) Two of the dead dogs were from notorious musher Dallas Seavey’s kennel. A 2-year-old dog named Bog—also from Seavey’s kennel—was raced to his death by musher Isaac Teaford, who was caught on camera attempting to force Bog, whose limp body was lying on the snow, to his feet. Shortly after, race officials announced that George, a dog forced to race by musher Hunter Keefe, collapsed and died on the trail. And today, the Iditarod announced that a 3-year-old dog named Henry, who was forced to race by Calvin Daugherty, died on the trail before. Approximately 185 dogs have been pulled from the trail so far due to exhaustion, illness, or injury.

Alaska Airlines, Chrysler, Coca-Cola, ExxonMobil, Jack Daniel’s, and Wells Fargo have all dropped their support for the race after hearing from PETA, which is calling on Liberty Media to follow suit. A protest at the Colorado home of Liberty Media CEO Greg Maffei is scheduled for Thursday, March 14. More details about the 2024 Iditarod are available here.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to use for entertainment or abuse in any other 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.