PETA Statement: Necropsy Should Earn Musher a Lifetime Ban

For Immediate Release:
April 24, 2018

Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382

Below, please find a statement from PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman in response to the release of the necropsy report on Boppy, a dog who was owned by Iditarod veteran Hugh Neff and who died while racing in the Yukon Quest this year:

This poor dog’s intestines were inflamed, his skeletal muscle cells were dying, and his muscles were wasting away, yet Hugh Neff forced him to pull a sled until he inhaled his own vomit and died of pneumonia. This should earn Neff a lifetime ban from the Yukon Quest and the Iditarod—which allowed him to compete just a month later and drop seven suffering dogs along the way—and all other races. Until the Iditarod releases the veterinary records of all of the dogs dropped from the race, we can only assume the worst—that many were close to experiencing a horrible death just like this one.

PETA’s motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to use for entertainment,” and more information about our campaign against the Iditarod is available on PETA’s website.