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'Of Cats and Dogs and the Yukon Quest' |
By Wyatt Tremblay, Copyright 2006 - Yukon News |
The 2006 version of the Yukon Quest proved to be a FIASCO from beginning to end. Having 'gotten by' for close to a quarter century without killing any HUMANS, the Quest organizers had a 'big reality check' two days after the race started. Five mushers and eighty-eight dogs in total, including a team of twelve dogs who had become separated from their driver, were rescued by an Alaska Air National Guard Blackhawk helicopter from the treacherous Eagle Summit in Alaska as a fierce blizzard was (fortunately) abating. The mushers and their dogs had been stranded on the mountain for many hours. An earlier rescue attempt by volunteers on snow machines was unsuccessful in the extreme conditions. Race officials manning the Mile 101 checkpoint were questioned by mushers and the media for having sent several 'rookie' or relatively inexperienced mushers (some of the mushers were competing in the shorter 'Quest 300' race) and their teams out onto the mountain in dangerous conditions. A Quest spokesman was heard on the local CBC radio to comment, "this IS the Quest after all," in an attempt to deflect criticism. Furthermore, the mountain itself was not safe to travel on as the terrain was reportedly barely passable for the experienced mushers who had successfully made the hazardous trek before the weather closed in. There was hardly any snow on the mountain and teams were forced to travel over exposed rock and and through thick underbrush, which was potentially unsafe for dogs. These teams had already been forced to travel for long distances in icy river overflows in unseasonably warm weather after leaving Fairbanks. The teams who were rescued were, as part of Quest race rules, disqualified from the race, decimating the field of mushers to almost half the number of starters, when added to those who had already dropped out. 2006 Yukon Quest 'poster boy,' Hugh Neff (from Alaska), whose 'main claim to fame' in previous Quests was as a 'poster boy for poor dog treatment,' was also disqualified from the race in Dawson City, after being angered over Quest officials advising him to let his dogs rest for longer than Neff was planning to, because of their poor physical condition. To add to the chaos, the warm weather and forest fire debris from the previous year in the southern Yukon made the Quest trail impassable to its Whitehorse finish destination. After a secret vote among some of the remaining mushers, the race course was re-routed to travel south to Pelly Crossing only, and to return to a new finish line in Dawson City. There was more criticism of the race committee from some mushers who thought it would be 'psychologically difficult' for their dogs to travel back over the same brutal, mountainous terrain (these mushers wanted to end the race in Pelly Crossing, but they were out-voted). The media were handed story material on a platter. Gutsy Yukon News reporter Genesee Keevil (who apparently has taken up sled dog racing herself, in local amateur events) distinguished herself from other journalists by not being afraid to delve into issues which would place the 'sacred cow' known as the Yukon Quest in too negative a light. Her story ('Quest on the Rocks' from March 3, 2006 Yukon News) is, to my knowledge, the most critical and hard-hitting article by Yukon media, in the entire history of the race. Keevil disclosed disturbing information about some Quest officials OPENLY CONSUMING ALCOHOL at checkpoints: "Mistakes were made. At some points, lives were believed to be at risk. Which leads one to a more difficult issue - that of alcohol consumption on the trail. Several, though not all, officials were less than discreet in consuming booze at checkpoints. Should officials managing a 10-day, 24-hour a day race with 22 teams crossing some of North America's roughest terrain be drinking at all?" This gave disgraced/disqualified musher Hugh Neff (who did not mince words) a chance to slam race officials: "I think the officials, more than looking at us, need to look at themselves," said Hugh Neff, after being forced to scratch in Dawson. "Last year, there was a lot of drinking problems. And, as a race, they have to realize how much we put into this." Other mushers levelled criticism at the Quest organizers. Three-time Quest champion and Iditarod veteran Hans Gatt commented on the dangerous Eagle Summit: "What I said in Central [Ed. Note - Alaska village and Quest checkpoint] is that someone could die up there on that mountain, I wasn't joking. The Quest has to sit down and figure out a different route or, one of these years, someone is going to get killed. It's a totally out-of-control situation and it shouldn't be that way - to bring dog teams up there is not responsible." Race marshal Mike McCowan displayed his arrogant lack of respect for mushers' opinions and concerns, in light of his being questioned by Keevil that mushers had suggested perhaps he "should have reviewed the trail himself before sending teams over the summit." [McCowan's response] "What are you going to do? I know there was snow on the approach and not much on top - the weather changes. And you can't put a lot of credence into what you hear from mushers along the trail - have you ever played the game of telephone?" In the same article, Yukon musher Gerry Willomitzer also expressed criticism: "The Quest needs to spend less money on administration, flashy media events and followups and focus on the key elements of the race, which is the trail and the purse." The first two two things that crossed my mind when I had heard about the crisis on Eagle Summit were: a) "the race officials must have been drunk"; and, b) "what were they [the race officials] using for brains?," upon hearing they had allowed a young eighteen-year-old female musher and her team out into a blizzard early on Monday morning, February 13th. Is this reported alcohol consumption by officials one of the previously untold Quest traditions? If so, why have no other reporters ever publicized this? I would not at all be surprised that had the Quest cheerleaders at CBC Yukon witnessed such irresponsible behaviour by officials, based on past Quest reporting, they likely would have turned their heads away and the public would never have known about it (either that or they would have been swilling alcohol along with the race officials). Speaking of CBC Yukon, CBC Radio had a (first ever?) 'call-in show' during the race to talk about the 2006 Quest. The panel was heavily stacked with Yukon Quest supporters - retired Quest musher Frank Turner, ex-CBC Yukon announcer (and ex-Yukon Government cabinet minister) Pam Buckway, primary Quest mouthpiece and 2006 race marshal Mike McCowan, in addition to the CBC Quest reporter and 'Lunchbreak' noon show host. There was a total of about less than a minute allotted to the one caller who successfully made it onto the airwaves (and who was rushed to get her point across because the show was running out of time). This caller identified herself as a Yukon resident who is a board member of the Canadian Federation of Humane Societies, and a personal advocate of mushing (including the Quest, I presume). She asked for a prompt ending to the 2006 race, for the sake of the dogs (and mushers). She furthermore was heard to say that incidents like this made it difficult for her as a CFHS board member, to get the society to develop a more favourable opinion of competitive dog mushing. Quest race marshal Mike McCowan, in an irritable tone, dismissed her concerns (I believe I heard the words "THAT ain't gonna happen"). To ensure an exciting finish back in Dawson City, the geniuses in the trail marker committee had put up one measly trail marker at an important crossroads near Dawson (the officials were probably in a rush to get good seats at 'The Pit' Bar in Dawson City) and eventual race winner Lance Mackey ran his poor dogs for three hours and for 45 kilometers to arrive back at the same marker and take the correct route. Mr. Mackey told reporters that his lead dog had attempted to take the correct route, originally, but was led astray by Mr. Mackey - not that Mackey was too concerned about this detour adversely affecting his dogs' health as he had boasted to the Whitehorse Star race reporter [February 17th Star] that "if it reached a point where he had to run his dogs for twenty hours straight, his team was ready." What a hero and role model! The most shameful aspect of the 2006 Quest was the fact that mushers gamble with the lives of their dogs was made clear as day (45 official 'dropped dogs' - not including Hugh Neff's remaining eight dogs who had endured suffering, and the 88 dogs who were endangered on the Eagle Summit), and that this recklessness also apparently extends to Yukon Quest officials gambling with the lives of the mushers themselves. During the last year or so, I have publicly asked Yukon Quest officials to address issues such as: mushers reportedly smoking marijuana during the race ['Yukon Alone' author John Balzar wrote that (more than a few) mushers smoking cannabis was "an integral part of the Quest"]; the culling/killing of unwanted sled dogs; and race veterinarians and officials allowing dogs suffering from ulcers to be entered in the race (a Quest musher I talked to in 2005 thought I would be impressed by his telling me that his dogs' ulcers 'cleared up' during the race) - ABSOLUTELY NO RESPONSE from Quest officials. "Hail the conquering hero," 2006 IMPORTANT information from SeppalaSledDogs.com about the 2006 Yukon Quest |
2006 Yukon Quest - 'The chickens come home to roost' |
2007 Message |
The SleddogWatchdog.com web site was originally intended to have been launched during the 2006 Quest race. With the highly disturbing event that took place early in the race, that of a half dozen mushers and their (88 in total) dogs being stranded in a blizzard on Eagle Summit, I decided that it would be crass and in poor taste to launch the web site at that time, giving the appearance of taking advantage of such an unfortunate situation. Although the Yukon Quest officials and spokespersons largely shrugged off this potential tragedy after the Alaska Air National Guard had courageously performed the rescue with a total of five helicopter flights using one helicopter, the event was personally very jarring to me as I know it was to other Yukoners. One media report noted that the weather conditions were so bad that the mushers could not hear the helicopter blades until the aircraft was right on top of them. Also reported was the fact that the rescuers were literally 'walking on dogs' buried under the snow when they got out of the helicopter. In the remainder of the year 2006, there was no shortage of Yukon Quest-related stories or of sad events involving dogs (and cats) in the Yukon Territory. In late June, it was reported that a Dawson City area resident (Jim Foesier) described as a 'dog hoarder,' shot 56 dogs in April of 2006 (this figure was subsequently revised to 74 dogs). The Humane Society Dawson and RCMP were aware of the deplorable conditions in which the dogs were being kept for up to a year before the dogs were shot. A Humane Society representative was visiting the man's dog yard to confiscate some of the dogs who were in the worst condition, when she came upon the man sitting on the pile of dead dogs. According to the Humane Society official, the owner stated that if he could not have the dogs, "no one would." The man was not officially charged with any crime and escaped any legal sanction. There was debate among the RCMP and local and national animal welfare organizations whether or not it was legal to shoot dogs in the Yukon (apparently it IS legal, and, as a matter of fact it is a long time Yukon and northern tradition to do so). Strangely enough, I did not read or hear anywhere what type of dogs these were (they could have been Pomeranians or Pugs for all the media reported). I would wager, however, that these were mostly 'husky-type' ('sled dog type') dogs, and it is often a slim line between the way dog HOARDERS and dog MUSHERS keep dogs in the Yukon. In any other jurisdiction, one would think that there would be an official public inquiry into this horrendous crime and tragedy, but as I have previously written about the Yukon Quest attitude of "this IS the QUEST, after all," "this IS the YUKON, after all," equally applies. As a Territorial election was looming in the near future, one Opposition party leader vowed to improve animal protection legislation in the Yukon were his party to be elected. This leader actually had the temerity to ask in the Yukon Legislature what the annual $150,000 Quest marketing money was used for - he was given a 'non-answer' in response by the minister responsible, and did not bother asking any follow-up questions. The justice critic for the other Opposition party, when asked for comments about the dog killings on CBC Yukon Radio, said, among other things, that he would "consult with the Quest" [for their input on developing animal protection legislation]. April 20, 2006 Yukon Legislature Committee of the Whole - Tourism Budget discussion excerpt Arthur Mitchell (Leader of Yukon Liberal Party): I'm wondering if the minister could answer a question regarding the $150,000 item that was in the budget speech supporting Yukon Quest media coverage and winter tourism marketing. I'm wondering if the minister could explain exactly what this money is going to be used for in terms of specific media coverage. Hon. Elaine Taylor (Minister of Tourism and Culture): With respect to the Yukon Quest and the marketing agreement we've had in place for probably about four or five years - it has been in place for a number of years - I don't think the contribution agreement has changed all that much, if at all. Money is forwarded to the Yukon Quest, and we're really proud of our ongoing support. The international sled dog race is a great event and does raise awareness about Yukon and, in particular, winter tourism in the Yukon, not to mention other winter-related activities. Dollars are flowed through to the Yukon Quest, and those dollars are to be targeted primarily toward marketing-related expenditures. With respect to the plan for 2006-07, I really don't have an actual analysis or a list of all the marketing projects that they're targeting for the 2006-07 year, but it is to go toward marketing activities. [As if it could get to be even more of a tragic/comedy] very shortly after the news of the dog murders, the first word that came out of the collective mouth of the Territorial ruling party having to do with dogs, was an announcement from the aforementioned Territorial tourism minister that the Yukon Quest was being given an additional $50,000 U.S. (in addition to the $150,000 amount the Quest is given by the department for marketing purposes) to placate some of the whining local (a total of eight of twenty-one 2006 Quest starters were Yukon-based) mushers who had made various statements and vows that they would be avoiding the Quest in 2007 to instead race in the Iditarod, due to the perceived paltry prize money and the way it was distributed amongst those who finished the race (the Quest is promoted as one of the flagship events of the Yukon and is close to the heart of the Territorial tourism department). When the new "Tourism Yukon brand" of the Yukon being "Larger than Life" was announced with much pomp and ceremony in the spring of 2006, who else would be interviewed on a CBC radio call-in show but Stephen Reynolds, Yukon Quest General Manager, as the Quest is considered a major stakeholder in the Yukon tourism strategy? Mr. Reynolds, in 2006, also shamelessly lobbied the City of Whitehorse for land upon which to erect a permanent Yukon Quest monument near the Whitehorse waterfront to honour the Quest and to serve as a race start and finish line. The monument was estimated to cost anywhere from $400,000 to $1 million - the Quest quite possibly has already located funding for this project, because by looking at the 'proud sponsors' page on the Quest web site, there is no shortage of public and private stooges willing to hand this disgraceful organization, 'money on a platter.' [From the Tourism and Economic Development Committee meeting minutes, City of Whitehorse, September 5th, 2006]: Yukon Quest Request Mr. Steve Reynolds addressed the Committee on behalf of the Yukon Quest Dog Sled Race to place a statue of a sled dog team in front of the White Pass Building in the location where the trees were recently removed. Mr. Reynolds advised that the planned statue would be cast in bronze, be approximately 60 feet long, and include 14 dogs. The estimated cost of the project is between $400,000 and $1 million. Committee was advised that the location was chosen due to the significance of the building, as the race uses much of the northern White Pass route to Dawson City. I might suggest that it would be a good idea to set up a memorial tombstone for the twenty-odd dogs the Quest race has directly been responsible for killing over the years. That might give the four-legged Quest athletes a final chance to decide whether or not they really want to participate in this idiotic race. To finish off the year, in November/December of 2006, media reported that pet cats abandoned by their owner (who had left town) in the tiny and remote Yukon community of Beaver Creek, had grown to a colony of about 70 cats and kittens. The felines were left to the elements and to the good graces of a few well-meaning residents to do what they could to help. Some cats had reportedly been shot by local persons. The month of November was extremely cold in the Yukon and many of the cats and litters of kittens froze to death. It was also reported that this group of cats' situation had been known about locally for a good while but people were either afraid to speak up about it or they simply did not care. When it was first reported by the local newspapers, there were many citizens of the Yukon who wanted to help (although from observation, the public response would not exactly qualify as a 'public outcry'), but there was a slow (frustrating and disappointing) reaction from the governmental and non-governmental agencies who should have jumped to organize a rescue mission. Unlike the Dawson area dog slaughter, this sorry episode luckily did not warrant national attention on CBC Radio, as some Yukoners (myself included) are tired of appearing like we are living amongst a bunch of backward hillbillies. [Back to the Yukon Quest] The Yukon mushers who got their wish for an increased purse size since the last Quest, are all back safely in the fold for the 2007 race. Quest legend Frank Turner became un-retired. Even our good friend Hugh Neff, who had vowed never to participate in the Quest again after being 'hounded mercilessly' by Quest race officials for his dog treatment in the 2006 race, was welcomed back with open arms. He has even appeared at local amateur mushing events involving young mushers in Whitehorse - "Hugh Neff and his Class A Dogs will be there!" The Yukon Quest organization is very excited about gaining increased media-exposure as the 2007 Canada Winter Games are being held in Whitehorse, immediately after the conclusion of the 2007 Quest race. The Canada Winter Games have adopted a dog mushing logo and three husky mascots, to represent the host Territories of Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut, all three territories renowned for their wonderful treatment of sled dogs and for their equally wonderful animal protection legislation. In January of 2007, the government of the Vuntut Gwitchin First Nations people of Old Crow, Yukon, staked $10,000 to inaugurate a new event involving first nations mushers - a long distance race from Eagle Plains, Yukon, to Old Crow (and back). We can surely expect much more suffering from sled dogs in the year 2007. MORE QUEST INSANITY!!! - couldn't miss posting this CHON-FM news item: The 24th version of the toughest sled dog race in the world gets underway Saturday and thanks to the organizers and the Department of Tourism and Culture, will feature competitors who practice on sand. Devon Anderson is arriving into the Territory this week to augment his dog mushing skills and observe the Yukon Quest. It will certainly be a switch for him as he trains on sand in his native country of Jamaica. Following the footsteps of the Jamaican bobsled team that debuted at the Calgary Winter Olympics in 1988 the efforts of a Jamaican dog sled team were captured in a documentary and were even supported by singer Jimmy Buffett. It was the documentary that caught the Yukon Quest's eye according to race organizer Stephen Reynolds. (Reynolds) "And so the Yukon Quest got in touch with the Jamaican sled dog team through a documentary film that's being made on their team and so we started talking and eventually got around to the idea of, hey, why don't you come up to the Yukon and see dog mushing in its real environment and so they liked the idea and they're coming up to see the race." Anderson will visit several kennels and drive a dog team into the northern wilderness as part of his specialized training. As for the conditions of the trail itself, Reynolds says mother nature has been more cooperative this time around. (Reynolds) "Right now as you go into Alaska there's good snow conditions all the way through to about Central and then there's been less than average snowfalls towards Fairbanks but still sufficient enough to get the team from the new check point at Chena Hotsprings into Fairbanks for the finish line so right now we're expecting all 1000 miles of the traditional trail to be in use start to finish." However, the junior Yukon Quest Race has been postponed until next year due to a lack of contestants. The 1000 mile race begins on Saturday morning in Whitehorse. [copyright Northern Native Broadcasting Yukon] FEB. 9, 2007 QUEST UPDATE - CBC YUKON QUEST CHEERLEADING TEAM READY TO HIT THE TRAIL! I did not want to miss this morning's 'Radio Free Quest' show on CBC, and I was not left disappointed after hearing it. The head cheerleader of the Yukon Quest cheerleading team, Sandi ("of course we know that mushers are not motivated by money") Coleman, reportedly had a 'wonderful time' as 'Mistress of Ceremonies' for last night's gathering of sled dog jockeys and their supporters who love to see these Quest dogs earn their keep...even if it kills them (I am talking about the Quest Race Start Banquet). CBC also has a new 'cub reporter' (Rebecca Zanbergen), assigned the primary mission of 'conveying a sense of excitement' about the Quest for the two weeks of the race. Ms. Zanbergen, by listening to the radio report, was overly thrilled to be graced by the presence of the mushers, which she equated to being around "rock stars." When I heard the names of some of the mushers, especially the local ones, what I was thinking was: Hmmm... now how many of these names do I recall seeing in local 'Pets section' of our newspapers in the last year, listing their surplus dogs for sale, including ex-Yukon Quest dogs? Heck, practically all of our local male and female mushing heroes trade and sell their faithful sled dogs like they were 'dime store novels.' Amongst all the 'hoopla,' I was SHOCKED to hear an ACTUAL REAL NEWS ITEM ABOUT THE QUEST on the 7:30 AM news, an excerpt from an interview I had unfortunately missed, with veteran Yukon musher Frank Turner, about Quest mushers culling/killing dogs. Mr. Turner as much as admitted on behalf of the competitive mushing community, that it is a fact that culling happens all too often, then was heard to suggest something that I had previously suggested about two years ago, in one of my 'diatribes' about the Quest that was published in the Whitehorse Star. Mr. Turner called for all Quest mushers to PUBLICLY DISCLOSE THEIR DOG CULLING POLICY, when signing up for the Quest. Notice in the story, Yukon Quest race marshal Mike McCowan's [what PLANET is this guy FROM?] statement that the culling issue was "not our (the Yukon Quest organization's) business." Also notice CBC inserting the word 'POSSIBLE' in the headline. CBC NORTH STORY (FEB. 9, 2007) - 'VETERAN MUSHER CALLS ON QUEST TO CONFRONT POSSIBLE DOG CULLING': Mushers running the Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race should have to sign a declaration that they do not cull unwanted dogs and puppies, long-time competitor Frank Turner says. Although there have been huge improvements in sled-dog care over the past several decades, Turner says the issue of culling still needs to come out of the shadows. "Competitive kennels, or even kennels that may not be competitive but aspire to be, often breed more dogs than they're actually going to be able to keep, afford to keep and pay for the vet bills, the food and all the other associated costs," Turner told CBC News in a recent pre-race interview. "If you added up the numbers, there's no way all those other puppies or young dogs are going to be sold or given away to homes. We're just breeding too many dogs." The Yukon Quest should admit that culling is part of the competitive racing world and take measures to discourage it, he said. "I mean one of the things that the Quest could do on the entry form is do a declaration - to participate in the Quest you declare that you do not practice culling of dogs," he said. The race does not have a policy on culling. Quest race marshal Mike McCowan would not say whether culling is a common practice when asked about it Thursday. "It's not our business," McCowan said. "I mean it's like going up to somebody and saying, 'How do you make your bed in your own house?' That's not our business." Twenty-eight mushers, including Turner, are set to start the 1,600-kilometre race from Whitehorse, Yukon, to Fairbanks, Alaska, on Saturday morning. [Ref. http://www.cbc.ca/canada/north/story/2007/02/09/culling-dogs.html?ref=rss ] My respect for Mr. Turner, who is the only Quest musher I am aware of who has publicly disclosed (in advertising literature for his sled dog tour business) that he does not cull his dogs, instantly went up about a million knotches. He is also one of the very few mushers that I would BELIEVE when he says it. Expect Mr. Turner to be ostracized on the 2007 Quest trail, by all the other Quest mushers who can't truthfully make the same disclosure. Thank you for your for your brave words, Frank (and thank you CBC North for not suppressing this story). [Frank Turner scratched from the race at the Dawson City checkpoint during the Quest layover weekend. Frank, thanks again for getting the culling issue 'out of the closet' - THE most important thing that happened during the 2007 Quest, or any Quest for that matter.] [SleddogWatchdog.com web administrator] |