Dog deaths revive calls for end to Iditarod, the endurance race with deep roots in Alaska tradition

By MARK THIESSEN
Associated Press

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — For the past five years, Alaska’s annual Iditarod sled dog race has gone off mostly free of controversy, as teams of dogs and their masters braved the elements in the 1,000-mile test of endurance across the frozen wilderness. This year the deaths of three dogs during the race — and five more during training — have refocused attention on the sport’s darker side. Questions are being raised anew about the ethics of asking animals to pull a heavy sled for hundreds of miles in subzero temperatures. Animal rights groups are calling for the race to end. The Iditarod pledges if there is anything to be done differently once they get the full necropsy reports back, they will apply those learnings.