Will Lewis Hamilton Help End Formula 1 Owner’s Iditarod Sponsorship?

Once PETA’s Person of the Year, Lewis Hamilton may now find himself in the doghouse. PETA founder and huge Formula 1 (F1) fan Ingrid Newkirk sent a letter urging the driver to join PETA’s appeal and use his considerable influence to help stop the suffering and death of dogs used in the treacherous 1,000-mile Iditarod dog-sled race.

Hamilton – a dog guardian and ethical vegan – was spotted dining out with F1 owner and Iditarod sponsor, Liberty Media’s CEO Greg Maffei, who has refused to end his company’s sponsorship of the deadly event – unlike ExxonMobil and Coca-Cola executives.

A word from Hamilton could save dogs who are every bit as precious as Roscoe, with whom he shares his home. That’s why we are urging the seven-time world champion to stop ignoring our desperate appeal for help in preventing more dogs from enduring hideous deaths in the dreadful race.

The Iditarod Explained

In the gruelling Iditarod, dogs are forced to pull heavy sleds through some of the most extreme weather conditions on the planet, with up to 80-mph winds and temperatures as low as minus 50 degrees.

Nearly 250 dogs were pulled from the trail this year due to exhaustion, illness, or injury, leaving the remaining ones to work even harder to pull the mushers.

The Iditarod’s official death toll of more than 150 dogs doesn’t include the countless animals who were killed because they weren’t fast enough or who died during the off-season while chained to dilapidated boxes or plastic barrels in the bitter cold, a practice exposed by an undercover PETA US investigation.

How Is F1 Implicated?

The Iditarod has lost nearly all its major sponsors, including ExxonMobil. Yet F1’s owner, Liberty Media, hasn’t joined the list and still has ties to the deadly event: one of its companies, GCI, continues to sponsor the race to the tune of more than £215,000 every year.

How Can You Help?

Racing should involve only willing human participants, such as Lewis Hamilton. You can help end the exploitation of dogs by calling on F1’s owner to stop supporting the Iditarod: