In a victory for animal welfare, ExxonMobil is ending its more-than-40-year sponsorship of the notorious Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, in which hundreds of dogs reportedly have died.
The decision comes following a years-long campaign from the People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), calling on the oil giant to stop funding the cruel and deadly event.
More than 200 dogs were pulled off the trail during last year’s Iditarod due to exhaustion, illness, and injury. During the off-season, many dogs are kept in freezing, deplorable conditions, and those who do not perform to their handler’s standards are often shot, bludgeoned, or abandoned, according to PETA.
This year’s Iditarod race will be the last one to receive funding from ExxonMobil, which agreed to cut ties with the event during a teleconference with PETA representatives last Tuesday. The oil company began sponsoring the Iditarod in 1978 and has provided $250,000 annually over the last several years, according to a press release.
PETA, which owns ExxonMobil stock, has been urging the company to stop supporting the race since 2007. The non-profit submitted a shareholder resolution late last year asking the multinational corporation to “end all sponsorship of activities in which animals are used and abused and killed,” spreading their message via billboards and bus ads.
The request echoed the voices of more than 100,000 activists, who staged dozens of “Closed For Cruelty” protests outside ExxonMobil gas stations and the company’s headquarters in Irving, Texas.
ExxonMobil joins numerous other companies who have stopped funding inhumane dogsledding race, including Alaska Airlines, Chrysler, Coca-Cola, Costco, and Jack Daniel’s.
Lady Freethinker commends ExxonMobil for making the compassionate choice to end its decades-long support of this horrifying event and applauds all the activists who continually pressured the company to make this happen.
What’s New…
KUDOS to EXXONMOBIL — WISE & COMPASSIONATE decision for our Animals, for our Eco-Ssytem, for our Planet, for us — THANK YOU SO MUCH — you’re the BEST.
WHY ON EARTH WOULD YOU TREAT THESE ‘WONDERFUL’, CREATURES – WITH SUCH CRUELTY AND CONTEMPT `?
The IDITAROD Race SHOULD BE STOPPED!!!!~!
The Iditarod Race is a competition of deliberate and extreme animal cruelty that cannot be tolerated any longer. A real shame
I really count on kind people that could help to punish the ugly people that do this kind of horror things… RIP poor baby :(!
Respect existence or expect resistance….
These dogs are amazing . They deserve better than be exploited.
its such a shame…..that humans think this is ok.
Please stop the abuse already!!!
I would say to EXXon MOBIL why it took 40 years of the death of beautiful innocent Iditarod dogs for 40 years to stop these atrocities??? And they are NOT STOPPING NOW either!!! They should have been sued for many years after participating in this sadistic form of killing dogs!!! They should pay penalties & be penalized for all the years of killing innocent dogs! They didn’t BAN having Iditarod this year either!!! Someone must make sure they’ll keep their word.!!! Naomi Semeniuk
ALL THEY CARE ABOUT IS MONEY…………………….
Please end this practice that causes suffering
The Iditarod Race must be banned.
AGREE,
Stopped murderers
Ban this once and for all, too many dogs have died already!
The Iditarod races should have been banned years ago, as so many dog were lost with these races. . It is cruel and only a sport for the humans and there greed.
PETA needs to be put out of existance. It is a terrible organization that only pretends to care about the welfare of animals. Most of what they say is for publicity purposes only. They have taken many pets from owners & killed them instead of finding good homes for them. Here is the link to a web site that talks about how many animals they killed in 2019 just in the state of Virginia. https://humanewatch.org/peta-killed-nearly-1600-cats-and-dogs-in-2019/#:~:text=PETA%20Killed%20Nearly%201,600%20Cats%20and%20Dogs%20in,other%20pets%20last%20year%E2%80%93a%20repulsive%2066%%20kill%20rate.
The Iditarod is not cruel. Nor is it torturing the dogs. The mushers own & love the dogs. Those dogs love to run.They are not house pets and would be miserable being kept in a house. I have seen video of them running through checkpoints rather than stopping. Every dog is thoroughly checked by vets prior to the start of the race & at every checkpoint. They are also required to take two – eight hour and one – twenty four hour rest at a checkpoint. When they stop, the mushers take care of their dogs before taking care of themselves. Several mushers have gotten frostbite because they dropped a mitten & continued caring for their dogs before putting it back on. Dogs that become sick or injured or are just too tired to run are transported in the sled and left in the care of vets at the next checkpoint. Yes, dogs have died during the race. Sadly, it happens & the mushers are very upset when it does. However, many more thoroughbred race horses die every year than dogs during the Iditarod, but I don’t hear PETA calling for the end of horse racing. How many horses died at Santa Anita in just the past two years? I guarantee it was a lot more than the number of dogs who died during the Iditarod. Thoroughbreds are abused by the jockeys during the races. They’re already running at top speed but the jockeys hit them with whips to try and make them run faster. Sled dogs on the other hand are well cared for & loved. They are not hit with whips to make them run faster. The only reason PETA isn’t calling for an end to horse racing is because there is a lot of money to be made from it. It was the same with greyhound racing. PETA didn’t condemn it but many dogs died during the races & many who did not perform up to expectations were killed afterwords. It took a Constitutional amendment, not PETA to end greyhound racing in Florida.
The people at PETA are a bunch of hypocrites & the organization needs to go out of business.
Message for Kim. Please try to keep your dislike for PETA out of this. There is no question that the Iditarod is a cruel “sport”, in the same way as any entertainment that forces animals to race for human profit is cruel. No amount of carping is going to convince anyone who cares about animals otherwise, so don’t waste your words on this forum.
Cindi everyone has a right to express their views, if you don’t like it ignore it. if you know anything about Huskies and Malumutes then you would understand the Iditarod race. The race is to test their endurance
ANY “sport” that involves animals to perform for human pleasure/profit is cruel to the animals. Yes, this does include horse racing, dog racing, bull “fighting,” cock fighting, stallion fighting, dog fighting, and on and on. ALL should be banned!
Please stop this…for the sake of our animals!
Please stop this cruel race. Dogs are suffering.
Please stop supporting the Iditarod. It is not fun for dogs, and should not be considered fun for people.
This CRUEL SPORT MUST BE STOPPED!!!!~! Thank You ExxonMoble for stopping your sponsership! I applaud You!
please stop this race these poor dogs don’t deserve to freeze and then just treated like they feel no pain. There is no reason to have these races. Please help these poor dogs. thank you
please stop this race these poor dogs don’t deserve to freeze and then just treated like they feel no pain. There is no reason to have these races. Please help these poor dogs. thank you
Dogs are not born to be run like this but loved as pets.
Please stop this asap. Dogs dying for a race is evil and disgusting.
Great news, Peta you’re the best. Keep on the good work and tell the other sponsors to end this travesty of pain and cruelty.