Dog Sledding Tours: 5 Things You Need to Know
If you’re planning a cosy winter break, please avoid dog sledding tours and activities. Dog sledding is cruel because dogs are often subjected to harsh conditions, put at risk of injury, and pushed beyond their physical limits. Thousands of dogs used for dog sledding in Scandinavia, the Alps, Alaska, Canada, and elsewhere endure a life of misery.
Here are just five reasons never to go on a dog sledding tour:
Dogs Face Injury, Deprivation, and Stress
Dogs regularly incur injuries when pulling sleds of tourists across rough terrain. Often young and still growing dogs are used, which risks causing serious harm to their ligaments, tendons, and joints. When they are tightly tethered to the sled with little room to move, dogs can become frustrated and can’t escape each other, which can lead to other – sometimes serious – injuries from fights or bites.
This footage shows dogs chained and exploited at dog-sled operations in Norway and France. They sleep in sparse wooden huts, which often lack proper insulation, and are deprived of any semblance of a normal life for dogs. In the sub-zero temperatures, their water bowls often freeze.
Dog Sledding Tours Support the Cruel Racing Industry
The dog-sled racing industry subjects dogs to gruelling races over hundreds of miles. When not being forced to race, the dogs are often used to give excursions to tourists.
The world’s cruellest race is Alaska’s Iditarod, where dogs are pushed beyond breaking point to run almost 1,000 miles in less than two weeks. Up to half the dogs who start the Iditarod don’t finish because they’re too injured, ill, or exhausted to go on, and as many as 80% of those who do finish sustain permanent lung damage. Their feet are bruised, cut, or rubbed raw from the treacherous icy terrain, and many dogs pull muscles, incur stress fractures, develop pneumonia, suffer from diarrhoea, or are afflicted with viruses or bleeding ulcers. The Iditarod has killed more than 150 dogs since it began in 1973.
The industry is international, and Iditarod champion Dallas Seavey – who has raced dogs who tested positive for opioids, operates a kennel accused of killing dogs who didn’t make the grade, and other acts of abuse – has participated in Norway’s 746-mile Finnmarksløpet dog-sled race, just as Tove Sørensen from the Tromsø Wilderness Centre in Norway races in the Iditarod.
Dogs Are Kept Outdoors in Harsh Conditions
When not being used as money-making machines, dogs in the sledding industry often lead a bleak existence. They may spend months at a time at the end of a short chain, deprived of exercise and the companionship of humans or other dogs. Unable to play or socialise, they can develop stereotypic, neurotic behaviour, such as incessant barking, howling, or repetitive circling. Constant barking is not normal for any dog – it is a symptom of frustration and despair.
A PETA US eyewitness exposé of kennels operated by former Iditarod champions reveals rampant suffering and atrocious living conditions, with dogs kept chained outdoors with only dilapidated wooden boxes or plastic barrels for shelter. Other investigations into dog sledding operations found that injured dogs were denied veterinary care and some have died of complications from eating rocks. Hundreds of dogs who were deemed unfit for racing have been bludgeoned or shot to death.
At Norway’s Tromsø Wilderness Centre, dogs are tethered on chains outdoors with only a small wooden hutch for shelter. Just as in Alaskan kennels, the scene resembles an outdoor prison camp.
Dogs Deserve Better
The dogs made to pull sleds are no different from those we share our homes with. They need exercise, play, enrichment, and companionship, and at the end of the day, they want to sleep in a warm, soft bed. Dogs are not ours to exploit for profit. As anyone who knows a dog will understand, they are sensitive animals with individual personalities. They are social, loving companions who become anxious when they are isolated and not adequately socialised. None willingly endures hardship or wishes to push themselves to the point of injury or even death. If you love dogs – stay away from cruel dog sledding races and trips.
You Can Enjoy Snowy Animal-Friendly Activities
Tourists often don’t realise the harm their spending choices can cause, but once they’ve paid the ticket price, it’s too late. So if you’re heading to a winter wonderland, please ignore all promotions for activities involving animals.
Instead of dog sledding, explore the local landscapes by hiking, snowmobiling, skiing, or kayaking. Only go whale or wildlife watching if you select a reputable operator who will observe animals from a distance and keep disturbance to a minimum. Avoid any company offering interactions with animals.
Animals Need Your Help
Animals deserve better than to be used as taxis or tourist props. Please never book a dog-sled tour or any other activity where animals are exploited for tourism and show this blog to your friends. Please also take a moment to take action for animals abused for tourism:
