PETA Statement: Another Dog Dead—and New Footage Reveals More Suffering and Abuse at the Iditarod

For Immediate Release:
March 17, 2026

Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382

Today, a 4-year-old dog named Charley died on the Iditarod trail after being forced to race for more than 800 miles by musher Mille Porsild. Please see the following statement from PETA President Tracy Reiman:

Charley deserved warmth, safety, and protection, but was instead given an icy grave. But her death comes as no surprise, given the new video footage PETA captured showing dogs used in this year’s race panicking; shivering dogs crying and begging to be brought in from the cold; handlers dragging dogs by the neck and shoving them into tiny boxes for transportation; and even a dog with a wound on his side. The Iditarod is a killing field for dogs, and PETA is calling on this race to end immediately before the death toll mounts any higher.

Charley’s death comes after two other dogs used by Porsild had to be pulled off the trail after she pushed them past their breaking point—leaving Charley and the remaining dogs to shoulder an even greater burden. During last year’s race, Porsild reportedly failed to stop after a dog named Hank fell through the ice into a freezing river, causing him to be dragged by the rest of the dogs. More than 150 dogs have died in the Iditarod since the event began, including Ventana, a dog in a late stage of pregnancy who collapsed and died on the trail last year after being forced to run more than 300 miles. The year before, three young dogs—Bog, Henry, and George—were raced to their deaths.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to use for entertainment or abuse in any other way”—points out that Every Animal Is Someone and offers free Empathy Kits for people who need a lesson in kindness. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow PETA on X, Facebook, or Instagram.