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| Feb 14, 2004 12:05 am |
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Iditarod Information |
Wicked Witch of the West
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I honestly know very little about the Iditarod other than what it is and the time of year it takes place. If these allegations are true, then it sounds like there needs to be enforcement of legislation.
From The Sled Dog Action Coalition
http://www.helpsleddogs.org/
Brutal dog-torture continues at the hands of hardhearted Iditarod mushers. Please help the dogs who are forced to run in the Iditarod dog sled race by sending protest emails to race sponsors and promoters. The Iditarod has a long documented history of dog deaths, illnesses and injuries. On average, 54% of the dogs who start the race do not even make it across the finish line. Of those that do, 81% have lung damage.
Many dogs who are permanently injured in the Iditarod or who are unwanted for any other reason are shot in the head, dragged or clubbed to death. "On-going cruelty is the law of many dog lots. Dogs are clubbed with baseball bats and if they don't pull are dragged to death in harnesses....." wrote Alaskan Mike Cranford in an article for Alaska's Bush Blade Newspaper.
Below is a list of organizations that are 2004 Iditarod race sponsors, musher sponsors or Iditarod promoters. Please blind copy the email addresses
PLEASE PERSONALIZE SAMPLE LETTER (If you will be boycotting, please say so.):
I understand your organization sponsors or promotes the Iditarod dog sled race, and I want to bring some facts to your attention. This race is condemned by animal protection groups and animal lovers across the United States. Please stop supporting this abusive race, and all of the evils associated with it.
Mushers treat their dogs abominably. In the Iditarod, dogs are forced to run 1,150 miles, which is the approximate distance between Los Angeles and Seattle, over a grueling terrain in 8 to 15 days. Dog deaths and injuries are common in the race. USA Today sports columnist Jon Saraceno called the Iditarod "a travesty of grueling proportions" and "Ihurtadog." Fox sportscaster Jim Rome called it "I-killed-a-dog." Orlando Sentinel sports columnist George Diaz said the race is "a barbaric ritual" and "an illegal sweatshop for dogs." USA Today business columnist Bruce Horovitz said the race is a "public-relations minefield."
Please visit the Sled Dog Action Coalition website
http://www.helpsleddogs.org and be sure to read the quotes on http://www.helpsleddogs.org/remarks.htm . All the material on the site is true and verifiable.
At least 120 dogs have died in the Iditarod. There is no official count of dog deaths available for the race's early years. Causes of death have included strangulation in towlines, internal hemorrhaging after being gouged by a sled, liver injury, heart failure, and pneumonia. "Sudden death" and "external myopathy," a fatal condition in which a dog's muscles and organs deteriorate during extreme or prolonged exercise, have also occurred.
In the 2001 Iditarod, a sick dog was sent to a prison to be cared for by inmates and received no veterinary care. He was chained up in the cold and died. Another dog died by suffocating on his own vomit.
On average, 54% of the dogs who start the race do not even make it across the finish line. Of those that finish, 81% have lung damage.
Tom Classen, retired Air Force colonel and Alaskan resident for over 40 years, tells us that the dogs are beaten into submission:
"They've had the hell beaten out of them." "You don't just whisper into their ears, ‘OK, stand there until I tell you to run like the devil.' They understand one thing: a beating. These dogs are beaten into submission the same way elephants are trained for a circus. The mushers will deny it. And you know what? They are all lying." -USA Today, March 3, 2000 in Jon Saraceno's column
Beatings and whippings are common. Jim Welch says in his book Speed Mushing Manual, "I heard one highly respected [sled dog] driver once state that "‘Alaskans like the kind of dog they can beat on.'" "Nagging a dog team is cruel and ineffective...A training device such as a whip is not cruel at all but is effective." "It is a common training device in use among dog mushers...A whip is a very humane training tool."
Mushers believe in "culling" or killing unwanted dogs, including puppies. Many dogs who are permanently disabled in the Iditarod, or who are unwanted for any reason, are killed with a shot to the head, dragged or clubbed to death. "On-going cruelty is the law of many dog lots. Dogs are clubbed with baseball bats and if they don't pull are dragged to death in harnesses....." wrote Alaskan Mike Cranford in an article for Alaska's Bush Blade Newspaper (March, 2000).
Jon Saraceno wrote in his March 3, 2000 column in USA Today, "He [Colonel Tom Classen] confirmed dog beatings and far worse. Like starving dogs to maintain their most advantageous racing weight. Skinning them to make mittens. Or dragging them to their death."
The race has led to the proliferation of horrific dog kennels in which the dogs are treated very cruelly. Many kennels have over 100 dogs and some have as many as 200. It is standard for the dogs to spend their entire lives outside tethered to metal chains that can be as short as four feet long. In 1997 the United States Department of Agriculture determined that the tethering of dogs was inhumane and not in the animals' best interests. The chaining of dogs as a primary means of enclosure is prohibited in all cases where federal law applies. A dog who is permanently tethered is forced to urinate and defecate where he sleeps, which conflicts with his natural instinct to eliminate away from his living area.
Iditarod dogs are unhappy prisoners with no chance of parole. Please end your organization's association with the Iditarod dog sled race.
2004 IDITAROD SPONSORS and EMail Address'
Daimler Chrysler: ir.dcx@daimlerchrysler.com; DaimlerChrysler_Customer_Assistance_Center@daimlerchrysler.
Coca-Cola: pressinquiries@na.ko.com; heyer@na.ko.com
Outback Steakhouse: NewsOutback@OUTBACK.com
Millennium & Copthorne Hotels: marketing@mill-cop.com
Wells Fargo & Company: investorrelations@wellsfargo.com
Kroger Co. (Fred Meyer Stores): investors@kroger.com
ChevronTexaco Corportation: pubaffmr@chevrontexaco.com
Exxon Mobil Corporation: enterprise.comments@exxonmobil.com
Coors Brewing Company: leo.kiely@coors.com; mike.gannon@coors.com
Brown-Forman Corp. (Jack Daniels): obrown@b-f.com
McClatchy Company (Anchorage Daily News: ptalamantes@mcclatchy.com; chendricks@mcclatchy.com
Providence Health System: MButler@providence.org; SFVSA@providence.org
Cabelas (sporting goods): Customer.Service@cabelas.com
Comtec Business Systems: info@comtec.com
AVID Microchips: sales@AvidID.com
Global Information Technologies: sales@gitsat.com
Alaska Airlines: newsroom@alaskaair.com, ir@alaskaair.com
2004 IDITAROD RACE PROMOTERS & EMail Address'
Carnival Corporation (Princess Cruises: media@carnival.com; rames@carnival.com
Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc.: mstewart@marthastewart.com
Scholastic Corporation: investor_relations@scholastic.com
Bain Capital (Co-owns Houghton Mifflin, a company that promotes the Iditarod to children): info@baincap.com
Travel Channel (Discovery Networks: dawn.mccall@discovery.com; pandit.wright@discovery.com
PBS Teacher Source: teachersource@pbs.org; viewer@pbs.org
EF Educational Tours: Customer.Service@EF.com
Elderhostel, Inc.: newsmedia@elderhostel.org; registration@elderhostel.org
Fodor's Travel Publications (Random House, Bertelsmann): editors@fodors.com; polson@randomhouse.com; gunter.thielen@bertelsmann.de
Frommer's Guides, For Dummies (John Wiley & Sons, Inc.): ecousens@wiley.com; wpesce@wiley.com
Lonely Planet Publications: tony.wheeler@lonelyplanet.com.au; talk2us@lonelyplanet.com.au
Travel Smart Books (Avalon Travel Publications): atpfeedback@avalonpub.com
Hunter Travel Guides (Hunter Publishing): hunterp@bellsouth.net
Greystone Books (Douglas McIntyre Publishing Group): dm@douglas-mcintyre.com
TIME for Kids: emailbag@timeforkids.com; amy_dunkin@timeinc.com
Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.: jsisk@rowmanlittlefield.com
Petplace.com (Intelligent Content, Corp.): scottz@PETPLACE.COM; scottz@intelligent-content.com
2004 MUSHER SPONSORS & EMail Address'
Microsoft Corporation: msft@microsoft.com; rrt@wagged.com; msnhst@microsoft.com; microsoftcom_contactus@css.one.microsoft.com">
Ford Motor Company: agilmour@ford.com
General Motors: john.devine@gm.com
Taco Bell/Denali Foods (Franchisor: Yum! Brands, Inc.): tricon.investor@tricon-yum.com
UGI Corporation (AmeriGas): strategicaccounts@amerigas.com
Global Outdoors, Inc. (Outdoor Channel): IRglobal@goldprospectors.org
Northern Outfitters: mail@northernoutfitters.com
Montessori Discovery School: discoverywww@iquest.net
Udelhoven Companies (Udelhoven Oilfield System): joyce@udelhoveninternational.com
Patrick Henry Creative Promotions: annie@phcp.com; myer@phcp.com
American Seafoods Group: asc_mkt@americanseafoods.com
Manchester Elementary School: bonnie_ingraham@mcs.k12.in.us
Annamaet Petfoods: info@annamaet.com
Eagle Premium Pet Foods/Eagle Pet Products, Inc.: jdc@eaglepack.com
Breg, Inc.: info@breg.com
Caribou Creek Gold Dog Food: rambler@cariboucreekgold.com
Dogbooties.com (a division of Arrowhead Fabric): info@dogbooties.com
Cold Spot Feeds: info@coldspotfeeds.com
Grabber Performance Group: international@grabberwarmers.com
Blackwood Dog Food (The Blackwood Corporation): info@blackwoodpetfood.com
Batteries.com: info@batteries.com
Sofast.net Toll free: 1-877-7-Sofast
Redpaw Feeds: redpaw@cheqnet.net
Benton Elementary: JBbradley@benton.k12.wi.us
Lowe's Home Improvement (Lowe's Companies, Inc.):manager@lowes.com
AdvoCare: rlhaynes@adelphia.net
Eagle Elementary: teast@zcs.k12.in.uc
Micro Air, Inc.: microair@microair.com
Durbin Elementary School: ktreinen@hse.k12.in.us
St. Vincent Sports Medicine Center (St Vincent Hospital): stvhr@stvincent.org
Ice Miller Legal & Business Advisors: phillip.bayt@icemiller.com; art.kalleres@icemiller.com
Abraham Lincoln Elementary School: Sheila.David@monroe.k12.wi.us
Chesapeake Siberian Husky Club: pxjones@comcast.net
Downwind Sports: gear@downwindsports.com
Isis Clothing: info@isisforwomen.com
Masterfoods (Mars, Inc.): site.operator@mars.com; AskMMs@MMMars.com; MMsWorld@mms.com; ethel.us@effem.com; pet.care@effem.com
Northern California Siberian Husky Club, Inc.: info@ncshc.com
Siberian Husky Club of Greater Detroit: bhorsey@aol.com; yukonwind@earthlink.net
Siberian Husky Club of Greater Chicago: lodgepol@mc.net
Union Elementary School: cfuelling@zcs.k12.in.us
FogtechEmail: gene@menzies.com; gene@motosolutions.com
Hickory Center Elementary School: sheila.schaeffer@nacs.k12.in.us
Frater ("Brother") Joseph F. Rautenberg: jrautenberg@stvincent.org
Triton Elementary School: cconner@nwshelby.k12.in.us
Oak View Elementary School: pam.sees@nacs.k12.in.us
Precious Blood School: pbschool@psci.net
St. Luke Catholic School: sweber@surf-ici.com
Crestview Elementary School: crestview@msdlt.k12.in.us
Neil A. Armstrong Elementary School: sgraves@mcsc.k12.in.us
Cargill Animal Nutrition (Cargill, Incorporated): robert_lumpkins@cargill.com; patty_vanderlin@cargill.com
Argyle Lions Club (Lions Clubs International): districtadministration@lionsclubs.org
Dane County Conservation League: dccl@dccl.org
Mt. Horeb Intermediate School: fenleyann@mhasd.k12.wi.us
Springdale Lutheran Church Sunday School: springdl@chorus.net
Argyle Elementary School: geraldb@argyle.k12.wi.us; kellyB@argyle.k12.wi.us
Leggee Elementary School: bschmidt@d158.k12.il.us
Free Spirit Siberian Husky Rescue: info@huskyrescue.org
Bay Area Siberian Husky Club: vicepresident@bayareasiberian.org; treasurer@bayareasiberian.org
Siberian Husky Club of Metropolitan Dallas: zvezda@ispwest.com; leb7282@attbi.com
Pike Legal Group: pikelegal@aol.com
Prairie Dog Supply Co.: prairiedogsupply@mts.net
Edmund Industrial Optics: sales@edmundoptics.com
Yummy Chummies Salmon Treats: sales@yummychummies.com
Melanzana Outdoor Fleece Clothing: contactus@melanzana.com; smokey@melanzana.com
Polaris Industries, Inc. (makes snowmobiles, watercraft, ATVs, utility vehicles): richard.edwards@polarisind.com
Gargoyle Sun Glasses (Gargoyles, Inc.):
inv-rel@gargoylesinc.com; webmaster@gargoylesinc.com
Groenewold Fur and Wool Company: office@gfwco.com
Affinity Advance Pet Food (Agrolimen): business@affinity-petcare.com
Ski-Doo Snowmobiles, Bombardier ATVs (Bombardier Recreational Products): genevieve.dion@recreation.bombardier.com;
marie-pierre.grenier@recreation.bombardier.com; steve.cowing@recreation.bombardier.com; marcr.lacroix@recreation.bombardier.com
Champion Pet Food, Ltd.: petfood@telusplanet.com
Red Robin Gourmet Burgers, Inc.: rfix@redrobin.com; relations@redrobin.com
American Dehydrated Foods, Inc.: info@adfinc.com">info@adfinc.com
National Dog Food: info@nationaldogfood.com
Think Equity: michael.moe@thinkequity.com; dquazzo@thinkequity.com; chayssen@thinkequity.com
Wilshire Park Elementary School: bkirkpatrick@stanthony.k12.mn.us
Windigo Outfitters in Iron River: windigo@cheqnet.net">windigo@cheqnet.net
Loyola Academy: tmunz@loy.org; pFaulstich@loy.org; dMcNulty@loy.org
Corona Extra Beer (Grupo Modelo, S.A. de C.V.): procermexlt@corona-extra.com; ir@gmodelo.com.mx
Napapijri: info@napapijrisusa.com
Bamber Valley Elementary School: kesewell@rochester.k12.mn.us
Kefas Outward Call: info@stylgrand.com; info@kefas.it
Autonomous Region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia Italy: presidente.giunta@regione.fvg.it; angelo.baiguera.regione.fvg.it
Anchorage Sheraton (MeriStar Hospitality, Corp.)
http://helpsleddogs.org/bruce.riggins@meristar.com">
bruce.riggins@meristar.com
http://helpsleddogs.org/melissa.thompson@meristar.com
melissa.thompson@meristar.com
Oakridge School: jkern@esc11.net
http://helpsleddogs.org/lhbroadus@esc11.net
Envia Corporation: sales@envia.com; distributorservices@envia.com
CMP - Net Solutions: ra@cmp.it">ra@cmp.it
Pheasants Forever: http://helpsleddogs.org/pf@pheasantsforever.org
pf@pheasantsforever.org
http://helpsleddogs.org/ryoung@pheasantsforever.org
ryoung@pheasantsforever.org
Amaize (Marsland Laboratories)Email message box:
http://www.amaize.com/dealer_inq.htm
Visit: http://www.helpsleddogs.org/sponsors.htm for complete contact information.
Private Reply to Wicked Witch of the West (new win) |
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