PETA
People in Los Angeles will be able to witness the behind-the-scenes horrors of the dog sledding industry when the award-winning documentary, Sled Dogs, begins its week-long run at the Laemmle Monica Film Center in Santa Monica, California, on Friday, October 6, 2017.
The riveting film, directed by Fern Levitt, is the first to reveal the unedited cruelty of the sled dogs participating in the Iditarod, an annual long-distance sled dog race that takes place in Alaska.
According to the grueling race’s rules, the dogs should run more than 1,000 miles in less than two weeks, with no more than 40 hours of rest over the duration of the highly-abusive competition.
As noted by PETA, from Alaska to Colorado and throughout Canada, dogs used in racing and in commercial sledding operations are treated like replaceable equipment.
“When not pulling loads for long distances, dogs, often dozens of them, are stored like inventory in muddy fields chained to metal posts or ramshackle plastic barrels, or dilapidated wood ‘houses.’ Breeders churn dogs out, who will then spend most of their lives at the end of a chain, denied any comfort whatsoever or companionship with a family.”
