Why get excited over spectacles of dog abuse and suffering, like the Iditarod, when there are extraordinary teams of women to marvel at like the Antarctica Ice Maidens? The team of six resilient, British soldiers recently pushed themselves to new extremes. Covering a period of 61 days, these wonder women, are the very first all-female team to traverse Antarctica — a feat far worthier of praise and attention that the cruelty-laden world of dog racing.

This phenomenal feat consisted of a 1065-mile trek in very harsh elements, through difficult terrain. Temperatures plummeted as low as 40 degrees below. In addition to this, each of the soldiers on the team used skis to pull their sleigh stacked with about 176 pounds of gear! Talk about a work out.

With this type of exhilarating bravery, provided by human strength alone, there is absolutely no need for the barbaric practices of dog racing/sledding. Dogs don’t naturally pull sleds, so harsh methods are used to push them to mush beyond their capacity. This often results in injuries, sickness, and even death. All of this, just so humans can reap the financial and social benefits of competing in “sporting” events like the Iditarod!

What's more, between races sled dogs are forced to suffer nothing but misery and loneliness at the end of short chains. In this captivity, they suffer extreme elements with often nothing more than a thin plastic barrel as their “home”. Despite the fact that dogs, and other animals, have fur, it’s safest to say if it’s cold for us it’s cold for them. And it’s unlikely that any human would volunteer to stay outside on a chain for hours on end, let alone days, weeks, or months.

Support events of athleticism that don’t require the forced participation of animals. In addition to this, please help us take steps against dog tethering by sharing our survey with professionals such as veterinarians and canine behaviorists. With your help, and their help, we can help shut down commercial dog sledding by banning unattended tethering.