PETA to ExxonMobil: Stop Promoting the Cruel and Deadly Iditarod to Schoolkids

At Energy Giant's Annual Meeting, Group Will Ask Company to Divorce Itself From the Suffering and Deaths of Dogs Who Are Forced to Pull Sleds

For Immediate Release:
May 25, 2010

Contact:
Lisa Wathne  757-622-7382

Dallas -- A representative of PETA, which owns stock in ExxonMobil, will question the energy giant at its annual meeting in Dallas on Wednesday. PETA wants to know when the company will end its sponsorship of Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race promotional materials that are aimed at schoolchildren. Last year, the company pledged $1.25 million to go toward such materials over the next five years:

When:   Wednesday, May 26, 9 a.m.
Where:  Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center, 2301 Flora St., Dallas

"Trying to sell schoolkids an event that is defined by animal abuse is a stain on ExxonMobil's reputation," says PETA Director Debbie Leahy. "Consumers care about animal welfare, so ExxonMobil should join other companies and cut all ties to the Iditarod--a race in which dogs are literally run to death."

In the Iditarod, dogs are forced to run more than 100 miles a day for almost two weeks straight. Many dogs suffer from pulled muscles, stress fractures, diarrhea, dehydration, intestinal viruses, or bleeding stomach ulcers. They must pull heavy sleds through severe weather conditions, and as a result, dogs routinely die on the course. One dog collapsed and died from gastric ulcers during this year's Junior Iditarod. In 2009, six dogs died, including two who were believed to have frozen to death. The majority of dogs used in sledding live at the end of a short chain. Puppies who don't make the grade are sometimes drowned or bludgeoned to death.

In the face of the controversy that surrounds the Iditarod, corporations such as Panasonic and Sony have withdrawn their support and canceled their sponsorships.

PETA's statement is available upon request. For more information, please visit PETA.org.