PETA’s ‘Dog Graveyard’ to Haunt Exxon Over Iditarod Ties
New PETA Campaign Will Call On Oil Company to Stop Fueling Deadly Dog Race
For Immediate Release:
September 14, 2020
Contact:
Brooke Rossi 202-483-7382
Because ExxonMobil continues to pump money into the cruel and deadly Iditarod dog race, even as other sponsors have pulled out, PETA supporters will set up a “graveyard” of “dead dogs” outside the company’s headquarters on Tuesday.
When: Tuesday, September 15, 12 noon–1 p.m.
Where: 5959 Las Colinas Blvd., Irving
More than 150 dogs have died since the Iditarod began. Dogs used in the race are forced to pull heavy sleds across 1,000 miles of grueling Alaskan terrain, through blinding blizzards and subzero temperatures. During the 2020 race alone, more than 220 dogs were pulled off the trail because of exhaustion, illness, injury, or other causes. One, Cool Cat, developed twisted intestines and almost died from painful bloat. Another, Betty, had pneumonia and was in critical condition, and two others refused to eat and had fevers, diarrhea, and persistent coughs.
“Exxon has the shameful distinction of being one of the Iditarod’s last major sponsors after countless others have pulled out, refusing to support cruelty to dogs,” says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. “PETA is urging it to stop propping up an evil industry that forces dogs to run so far and so fast that they often die after inhaling their own vomit.”
PETA has released a video exposé revealing extreme suffering on several high-profile mushers’ properties. Following PETA campaigns, Jack Daniel’s, Coca-Cola, Wells Fargo, and several other major companies cut ties with the Iditarod, as did Anchorage Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram Center, Alaska Airlines, and Baird Private Wealth Management just this year.
PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to use for entertainment”—opposes speciesism, which is a human-supremacist worldview. For more information, please visit PETA.org.
