Tell Shipping Company Lynden to Reconsider Ties With the Iditarod’s Cruelty to Dogs

The Iditarod has been forcing dogs to pull heavy sleds through biting winds, blinding snowstorms, and subzero temperatures for over half a century—which is more than 50 years too many for the countless dogs who suffer and die for it. The race is so grueling that up to half of those who start it don’t make it to the finish line, collapsing from exhaustion or suffering from injuries or illnesses too severe for them to continue, and more than 150 have died during it. But this hasn’t stopped the Lynden family of transportation and logistics companies from sponsoring the deadly dog-sled race.

As dogs travel through about 1,000 miles of rough Alaskan terrain, their feet become bruised, bloodied, cut by ice, and just plain worn out because of the vast distances. Many dogs pull muscles, incur stress fractures, or become sick with diarrhea, dehydration, intestinal viruses, or bleeding stomach ulcers. Over half of us share our homes with dogs who are no different from those used in the Iditarod, and forcing them to run against their will for the purpose of entertainment is a form of speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview.

Alaska Airlines, ExxonMobil, State Farm, and Wells Fargo have cut ties with the deadly race after recognizing the cruelty inherent in it. It’s time for the Lynden family of companies to race away from the Iditarod’s animal abuse.

Tell the Lynden family of companies to reconsider supporting an event in which dogs routinely suffer and die and call on it to rethink future sponsorship of the Iditarod.

Please send polite comments to:

Jon Burdick
CEO and President
Lynden Inc.
[email protected]

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