Great News: ExxonMobil Cuts Ties With Iditarod Dog-Sled Race!
Following a campaign by PETA and our international affiliates, including hundreds of calls and e-mails from nearly 100,000 compassionate people, ExxonMobil – one of the Iditarod’s last major sponsors – has confirmed that 2021 is the last year it will sponsor the deadly dog-sled race.
ExxonMobil, which operates Esso petrol stations in the UK, has sponsored the Iditarod since 1978 and has given the race $250,000 per year for the last several years, so to get the petrol giant’s attention, PETA and our international affiliates pulled out all the stops.
As well as calling them out on social media and sending emails urging the company to stop sponsoring the Iditarod, PETA US also erected a billboard near ExxonMobil’s headquarters in the US, held protest after protest, and really stuck it to Exxon at its petrol stations …
https://twitter.com/peta/status/1352800121109536768
And it has all paid off, as ExxonMobil will soon join the growing list of companies – including Chrysler, Alaska Airlines, Coca-Cola, and Jack Daniel’s – that have listened to PETA or our affiliates and the public and finally cut ties with the horrific industry.
What Is the Iditarod and Why Is It Wrong?
The Iditarod is a cruel, gruelling dog-sled race in Alaska in which dogs are forced to pull heavy sleds across approximately 1,000 miles, through blinding blizzards and sub-zero temperatures. More than 150 dogs have died during the Iditarod since it began, and that doesn’t include those who died during the off-season.
During the 2020 race alone, more than 220 dogs were pulled off the trail because of exhaustion, illness, injury, or other causes. One, Cool Cat, developed twisted intestines and almost died. Another, Betty, had pneumonia and was in critical condition, and two others refused to eat and had fevers, diarrhoea, and persistent coughs.
How You Can Help
The Iditarod is just one of many gruelling races that subject animals to suffering and death for the sake of human entertainment.
You can help by opposing these hideous spectacles and taking action for other animals who are forced to race for their lives.
