This Race is a Matter of Life and Death for Dogs

Alaska’s dangerous Iditarod dog-sled race begins on the first Saturday in March each year. During the event, dogs are forced to run about 1,000 miles from Anchorage to Nome in less than two weeks, enduring freezing temperatures, blinding snowstorms, and often, painful injuries or illness.

Dogs bred in the dog sledding industry are commonly treated like inventory: kept outdoors year-round in all weather extremes, in crowded, unsanitary yards where disease and parasites run rampant. With nothing to do but run in endless circles around dilapidated boxes or barrels, which are the closest things they have to a “home”, they often spend much of their lives on a chain.

During the racing season, they face other dangers. PETA recently released the first in-depth collection of studies on the severe and lasting damage long-distance dog-sled racing inflicts on dogs’ bodies. In addition to publishing reports, PETA hosts protests, runs a week-long text-in campaign, promotes online actions, and continues to expose the abuse dogs endure in the annual race.

Here is just a glimpse of the suffering dogs endured during the 2026 race:

•  A 4-year-old dog named Charley died on the trail after being forced to run more than 800 miles through grueling conditions.
• Illness swept through the race. Multiple dogs on one team developed pneumonia, while another musher withdrew after several of the dogs he forced to race showed signs of kennel cough. Others openly admitted that viruses were circulating among teams as they were being pushed down the trail.
• A musher lost her entire team of dogs three separate times.
• Approximately 185 dogs were pulled from the trail due to illness, injury, or exhaustion—including one dog whose toenail apparently broke off while running, causing blood to spray “everywhere”—an injury the musher claims he didn’t even notice at first.

This pointless race is a matter of life and death for dogs, but you can help!

1. Contact Hyatt on Facebook, Instagram, and X to tell it to stop allowing its JdV by Hyatt Wildbirch Hotel to sponsor the abusive Iditarod.

2. Contact another Iditarod sponsor, Alaskan Brewing Company, on Facebook and Instagram. Then use the company’s contact form to ask it to reconsider its future support of the death race.

3. Contact Iditarod sponsor, VIVAZEN, on Facebook and Instagram to ask the company to reconsider its support of the Iditarod’s cruelty.

4. Host a watch party. Invite friends over to watch the award-winning film Sled Dogs, and urge your loved ones to take action to help the dogs forced to endure these cruel races. Prepare vegan snacks and appetizers to share!

5. Visit PETA’s Iditarod rapid action center page to read more and take ten actions in just a few minutes.

Thank you for your compassion for animals.