Formula 1 CEO Receives ‘Dead Dog’ Delivery From PETA in Plea to Break Iditarod Ties
Formula 1 CEO Receives ‘Dead Dog’ Delivery From PETA in Plea to Break Iditarod Ties
London – There’s a racing event that Formula 1 (F1) should steer clear of: the notorious Iditarod – a dog-sled race across Alaska’s frozen tundra that has killed over 150 dogs since its inception. F1’s sister company GCI (under parent company Liberty Media) sponsors the deadly race to the tune of more than £180,000 a year . This week, PETA delivered a pointed plea in the form of a dead dog prop to F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali with a letter urging him to tell Liberty Media to cut ties with the shameful event. ExxonMobil, Jack Daniel’s, and Coca-Cola have all pulled their sponsorship of the Iditarod after seeing video footage of hideously cruel living conditions for survivors of the race and more.
More photos available here.
“Dogs are forced to run until their bodies break down and they die after inhaling their own vomit in the Iditarod, yet Liberty Media has not yet joined the other big companies that have condemned the race,” says PETA Vice President of International Programmes Mimi Bekhechi. “PETA is calling on Formula 1 to tell its owner to hit the brakes on Iditarod support.”
PETA notes that up to half the dogs who start the Iditarod don’t finish it, and during last year’s race, nearly 200 dogs were pulled off the trail because of exhaustion, illness, injury, or other causes, leaving the remaining ones to work even harder. A PETA US exposé of Iditarod mushers’ kennels has also revealed that arthritic and sick dogs were left chained up without veterinary care, dogs were dragged and injured during training, and one was even killed.
PETA – whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to use for entertainment” and which opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview, is also urging its supporters to join the call for F1 to cut ties with the Iditarod.
For more information, please visit PETA.org.uk or follow the group on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.
Contact:
Sascha Camilli +44 (0) 20 7923 6244; [email protected]
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