Sled Dog Watchdog: Yukon Quest 'Media darling'

The Yukon Quest has for many years benefitted from a lack of media scrutiny with regard to the
crueler aspects of the race itself, and to the sad conditions many sled dogs live in when they are not
racing. In the early years of the race, the media may be forgiven somewhat for their limited awareness
about sled dog welfare. However, we are now living in the 'information age' and media have no excuse
for not delving further into the various cruelties inflicted on dogs by the Yukon Quest, or the suffering
caused to dogs because of the lack of any regulation of mushers' sled dog operations in the north.

[Ed. Note- there is much criticism of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation on this page and web site.
The writer is not blindly opposed to CBC but actually grew up listening to CBC Radio from an early age.
It helped to develop my judgement as to recognizing 'irresponsible journalism' whenever I encountered
it. The CBC should have a policy of not supporting and promoting events that injure and kill animals
[Thank you to reporter Al Foster and cameraman Mike Rudyk of CBC Television's 'Northbeat' for
the interview during the 2007 Quest and for distinguishing themselves from most of their colleagues at
CBC Yukon.].

In the Yukon, the major media sources are the two Whitehorse newspapers (The Whitehorse Daily Star
and Yukon News) and the public radio and television broadcaster, the local Canadian Broadcasting
Corporation affiliate (CBC Yukon). All three organizations, to various extents, support and promote the
Quest. The Whitehorse Star is a major sponsor, providing numerous full-page advertisements for
fundraising events and other race promotions. The Yukon News has, in the past, sponsored individual
Quest mushers, according to mushers' web sites. CBC Yukon and its parent, CBC North, are the biggest
media cheerleaders, and negative coverage of the Quest by CBC has been practically non-existent for
the 20-odd years the Quest race has been staged.

CBC Yukon and CBC North: Irresponsible journalists use public airwaves to promote an
ethically questionable race that has killed and injured sled dogs:

In February of 2005, the [now] administrator of this website wrote a 'letter to the editor' that was
published in the 'Yukon News' about CBC Yukon's perceived biased coverage of the Yukon Quest. The
letter, headlined (by the editor) 'CBC Should Stop Cheerleading for the Quest,' was printed on the
Friday of the first week of the Quest, in time for the Quest mushers' layover in Dawson City. The letter
addressed the perceived lack of journalism ethics displayed by several CBC radio employees when
speaking about the Quest, seemingly sanctioned by CBC management.

For most of the race there was no discernible change in CBC's coverage. However, toward the end of
the race it became apparent from listening to CBC Radio that the letter had registered with at least two
CBC Radio personnel. For example, the visiting 'writer-in-residence' at the Pierre Berton House in
Dawson was interviewed on the second Friday after the start of the Quest (when most mushers had
already finished). The writer mentioned that he had been in Dawson watching the mushers arrive
there, and told CBC Yukon radio announcer Roch Shannon-Fraser that, although he realized the Quest
was somewhat controversial, he found it 'touching' to watch the dog teams arrive.

To that date in the Yukon, the only way this visitor would have thought the race was controversial was
by reading the 'CBC as cheerleaders' letter which would have been passed around in Dawson during the
mushers' mandatory rest stop there, and another letter (also published in the Yukon News) critical of a
particular Quest musher known for his callous treatment of sled dogs, from another Whitehorse
resident during the second week of the Quest.

The next day (early on a Saturday morning) Mr. Shannon-Fraser was talking to CBC's Quest reporter
Trisha Estabrooks, on one of the final Quest reports, and he questioned her about Quest sled dog care.
He was assured by Ms. Estabrooks that Quest mushers took great care of their dogs and the name of a
local Whitehorse-area musher was brought up, a musher who is widely promoted as being the
'gold-standard' with regard to dog care. This same musher had in the 2001 Quest, according to the
'Racing the White Silence' book by Adam Killick, "through an oversight," neglected to bed his dogs
down properly on a cold night early in the race, and the dogs' heat loss had melted body-shaped
impressions in the snow, causing the dogs to endure much suffering, and sapping their strength.

Because of CBC's perceived pro-Quest bias, a decision was made to file an official
complaint with the CBC Ombudsman, to have the issue investigated.

The complaint was responded to by the Director of English Radio and Television, Mr. Mike Linder, from
CBC North headquarters in Yellowknife. Mr. Linder 'pooh-poohed' the concerns expressed, and
furthermore made a valiant defense of the Yukon Quest (strangely enough, Quest officials themselves
practically never respond to the scant criticism the race has received over the years). A response to Mr.
Linder's 'whitewashing' of CBC's biased reporting was e-mailed to several media sources and animal
rights organizations, and included the original complaint letter and the response from Mr. Linder.

Shortly after, the Whitehorse Star published the letter of response to Mr. Linder (a previous CBC Yukon
staffer and station manager), which the editor titled "Stop 'Cub Reporting' on a Northern Disgrace"
(April 8, 2005). This apparently infuriated Mr. Linder who quickly wrote a letter to the Star 'accusing
the accuser' of making 'unwarranted personal attacks' and 'slandering' individual CBC Yukon employees.
It was obvious that Mr. Linder did not read the actual letter, but was responding to communication
from CBC Yukon informing him of the letter having been published in the Star. In his letter to the Star
editor [see 'Personal Attacks Were Baseless' letter, to follow], Mr. Linder defended by name those
employees named in the original complaint letter (and some who were not).

It must be noted that, to that date, the only CBC employees named in print by the Star were the CBC
'cub reporter' who had covered the 2005 Quest race and one of the hosts of the CBC Yukon morning
radio show. The week after, the Star then published the original letter of complaint to the CBC
Ombudsman - 'CBC is Promoting Cruelty to Sled Dogs' (April 15, 2005).

CBC's Yukon Quest reporting policy/defense of Yukon Quest according to/by Mike Linder
(March 2005 CBC Ombudsman reply):

After a careful reading of your letter, I believe your true argument is with the very existence of the
Yukon Quest and perhaps any and all dogmushing (sic.). I don't dispute your right to hold this view
but I can't say that it is one necessarily held by the Yukon public…

There is great public interest in this event and as such it is one that the Yukon's public broadcaster
must pay attention to. This does not in any way suggest the event is above the same scrutiny we apply
to other endeavours…

The Yukon Quest has been running for many years and CBC Yukon has been reporting it from the
start. In our experience the Yukon public, the dog mushers and breeders and the veterinary community
consider this a legitimate athletic event. The consensus appears to be the dogs, by and large, enjoy the
event…[Ed. Note: I would be very interested, Mr. Linder, in seeing the transcripts of your
interviews with the dogs. Did your reporters capture the last words of the many dogs who
have died in the Quest over the years?]

I do expect our hosts to convey the sense of excitement around them when talking about one of the
largest international events in the north. This should not be construed to suggest our team was
"cheerleading"…

[Ed. Note: How's this for cheerleading?]
February 24, 2005 Quest report from Quest reporter Trisha Estabrooks:

What a race! This morning, last week, the start of the race, it all seems like a blur. Lance Mackey, the
rookie, victorious and hilariously excited. His father, Dick Mackey, travelled from Arizona to greet him
at the Angel Point checkpoint. Today he stood on the finish line beaming. Dick Mackey looms large in
mushing circles, being one of the founders of the Iditarod and by making history with his 1978
one-second win. Perhaps it was talking to him last night, perhaps it was my hunger for the race, but
for just a moment I thought William Kleedehn would follow Mackey to the end. The finish line was
exhilarating, the beginning of the end…

[The letter continues]
The musher who dropped out early because of her team having bloody vomit and diarrhea [Ed. Note -
it was actually bloody diarrhea and 'normal' vomit] did so at a designated dog drop with a veterinarian
on hand to provide care for the animals. Weather prevented the plane from landing for two days. This
weather related occurrence was unforeseen, but no lingering illness or injuries resulted…

The musher who overloaded his sled was a first-timer, learned his lesson and his "wore out" dogs
recovered and completed the race in good health… [Ed. Note - The musher was Jon Little, of
Kasilof, Alaska - an experienced musher/journalist who writes promotional articles about
dog mushing.]

For decades northern mushers have run their dogs under extreme conditions, sometimes to save lives,
deliver mail, move freight or for their own personal survival. Quest mushers train their dogs to deal
with conditions they are likely to encounter during the race…

If you or anyone else has any proof of animal cruelty it should be reported to the RCMP and/or the
Humane Society. CBC Yukon would be receptive to reviewing any specific allegations or firsthand
information you may have. [Ed. Note - Based on past experience, RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted
Police) officers do not have the will or resources to deal with animal complaints with their regular
policing workload, and are also hindered by weak animal protection laws. Humane Society Yukon does
not have either the resources or legal authority to police animal cruelty, more than that of any
individual citizen of the Yukon.]

[the letter concludes]
I hope I have gone some way to answering your concerns. I will note yours is the only complaint about
our coverage we have received.

Reply from Mr. Linder ('Personal Attacks Were Baseless' - Whitehorse Star, April 11,
2005):

This is an open reply to the correspondence published Friday, April 8, as a letter to the editor re: CBC
coverage of the Yukon Quest.

I believe I've addressed your substantive points in my reply to your letter to the CBC Ombudsman.
That you then chose to bypass that process and circulate your correspondence widely was your
decision. It seems to have achieved your goal, which appears to be gaining more attention for your
personal views.

I challenged you to bring forward, to the proper authorities and the CBC, any evidence or first-hand
knowledge you have of animal cruelty and neglect. You have not done so. Instead, you cite media
reports as your sources. [Ed. Note - ???]

You then insult and denigrate those who made them - much as you insult and denigrate the many
mushers, sponsors, community volunteers and veterinarians who participate each year in this event.

I have great respect for their professionalism, and you have given me no reason to doubt they operate
from anything less than the highest standards of integrity and commitment. Your credentials to assess
journalism appear to be on par with your credentials to assess the competence of those who work with
or care for animals.

The people of the Yukon are well served and indeed fortunate to have broadcasters of the professional
caliber of [four CBC Yukon employees' names]. Your personal attacks on them are not only baseless
but malicious and outside the bounds of civilized discussion. As I stated before, you are entitled to your
opinion. I do not, however, believe that gives you licence to slander the dedication and professionalism
of so many Yukoners, be they CBC employees or others.

To give evidence of CBC's casting off all tenets of responsible journalism, here are some
of the examples seen or heard on the public broadcaster's various media formats:

After the 2005 Quest, when CBC Yukon had exchanged its Yukon Quest cheerleading garb for that of
the Iditarod's, one of CBC Yukon's 'A New Day' morning show hosts told listeners (in a syrupy tone) in
an interview with an Alaska Public Radio (another Quest and Iditarod media cheerleader) reporter that
"of course we know that mushers are not motivated by money." It is a great mystery how some of
these newly-arrived CBC employees from southern Canada are instantly transformed into Yukon Quest
(or Iditarod) disciples. Is there an internal policy at CBC Yukon, when talking about mushers, to
occasionally refer to them as "well-respected mushers" or as "legends?" If an announcer had attributed
the same altruistic motivations to Yukon politicians as he or she attributed to mushers, the phones at
CBC would be 'ringing off the hook.'

The 2004 CBC North television documentary 'The Lone Trail: The Dogs and Drivers of the Yukon
Quest' used 'creative editing' to ridicule a lone, young activist who was brave enough to speak out in
public in about the cruel aspects of the Quest. This offensive program is shown to tourists at the Yukon
Tourism Reception Centre in Whitehorse. It was also circulated to the world on the CBC Newsworld
International television channel. CBC makes 'blood money' off the documentary by selling it through
private retailers.

This is a description from the CBC News national website about the video production:

The Lone Trail is a CBC documentary special about "The Quest," an annual dogsled race that runs from
Fairbanks, Alaska to Whitehorse, Yukon. The 1600 km race is gruelling and takes over a week to
complete. The Lone Trail follows three of the race participants: a handicapped musher, a young
woman and a third musher, who has competed in every "Quest" race and who is now contemplating
retirement. This special broadcast, which combines moving human drama with
breathtaking footage of the northern scenery, is guaranteed to keep viewers on the edge
of their seats.

There is a permanent Yukon Quest page featured on the CBC North web site year round. The fondness
of CBC towards the Quest is evident in the written archived 'race diaries' and sound clips available on
the site. [UPDATE: CBC stopped adding content to the site after the 2006 Quest race].

The 2005 Quest reporter almost made the CBC Yukon noon show host cough up a vital organ by
innocently blurting out that there was a portion of the Yukon Quest trail known as 'The Dog Killer.'

CBC enthusiastically provides promotional support for Quest fundraising events. In mid-2005, one
morning show host urged listeners to visit a popular Main Street coffee shop in Whitehorse (a venue for
several Quest fundraisers), to see the 'touching exhibit' of Quest photography. CBC Yukon often treats
Yukon Quest press releases or other Quest or Iditarod trivia as major news stories. Recent examples
are: the story about the local musher held up as an example to the corporate world; one about an
Iditarod musher who did some TV ads in Alaska about depression (…Living in the north and
feeling depressed? Get a bunch of sled dogs, they'll cheer you up!); and a story about
Canada's national airline promoting the Quest on its flights for the month of December, 2005. One of
the hosts of CBC's 'Radio Free Quest' morning show excitedly expressed hope that it would be widely
seen.

CBC Yukon and CBC North have for years, disseminated Yukon Quest propaganda to their southern
affiliates prior to and during the Quest race, with radio spots sold to radio shows such as 'Definitely Not
the Opera' and other national programs. CBC Yukon goes out of its way to make sure that its good
friend, the Quest, receives promotion whenever a national CBC program does a spotlight on the Yukon.

Shelagh Rogers, host of the national radio morning program 'Sounds Like Canada' based her show in
Whitehorse for a week in mid-December 2005, spotlighting various Yukon items of interest. She
interviewed a young musher who was entered in the 2006 Quest race. Ms. Rogers visited the musher's
family home and took a tour of the dog yard. Shortly before this, the Yukon News had a full-page
article about the young musher (November 18, 2005) and one of the accompanying photos showed the
typical scene of chained-up dogs in the background. One could see in the photo, cheap plastic rain
barrels used for dog houses, popular among mushers for their low cost, but which would provide very
little protection from the elements.

Ms. Rogers needs to learn to recognize this minimal standard of dog care when she sees it (it was very
likely that CBC Yukon employees did not tell Ms. Rogers that the Quest might be the 'tiniest bit
controversial' to some listeners). In a related matter, earlier in 2005 on the CBC North evening
television news program 'North Beat,' a Yellowknife dog musher was interviewed on a bitterly cold day
in front of a dog house which had a glacier of frozen dog urine at the doorway, likely not even raising
an eyebrow of the reporter.

Two CBC Yukon camera men were nominated for Canada's version of the Emmys (the 'Genie Awards')
for their filming of 'The Lone Trail' 'documentary.' They did not win, but were given special 'internal
awards' by CBC for their work on the film (reported in Whitehorse Star, January 18, 2006). In the film
there was footage of dogs running at night through icy water and a scene of exhausted dogs in burlap
sacks being loaded onto a small plane. In the annual coverage of the Quest, where is the video footage
of exhausted and suffering dogs? Where are the images of DEAD DOGS [Adam Killick, in his
book, 'Racing the White Silence,' about the 2001 Quest noted that an average of one dog
a year had died since the race's inception. John Balzar, in his book 'Yukon Alone,' about
the 1998 race, noted that two or three dogs died in some years, none in other years]?

Aside from Yukon Quest promotion, CBC Yukon is also very supportive of the fur trapping industry and
big game hunting in the Yukon, judging by the frequency and tone of the stories - of which CBC can be
depended upon to give only one side. Being supportive of these facets of northern society may possibly
help to allay criticisms of CBC as being a member of the 'liberal media,' but whatever the CBC
audience's feelings are about these issues, the public broadcaster should give both sides of the story.

[Ed. Note - The intent of the complaint letter to the CBC Ombudsman was that some of
the previous examples of media bias on the part of CBC would be included in the
investigation. It was obvious by Mr. Linder's letters, however, that CBC is entrenched in
how it will cover the Yukon Quest, and did not bother addressing these points. Personally,
I have better things to do with my life than sit around with my ears glued to CBC Radio,
documenting the garbage that comes out of some of their employees' mouths when they
are speaking about the Yukon Quest. The sad truth is that CBC has chosen to take the
approach of 'preaching to the choir,' seeing that the Quest is considered to be a 'sacred
cow' by many Yukoners, and that many Yukoners also accept the word of CBC 'as gospel.'

Whitehorse Daily Star

Although it is questionable that the Whitehorse Star, as a media entity, should be sponsoring a race in
which harm is inflicted on dogs, throughout 2005 and early 2006, the Star was commendable in giving
prompt and prominent attention to letters critical of the Quest and other letters to the editor about
humane issues. [2008 update - it appears that the Whitehorse Star has, in the last year,
realized as a media sponsor which side its 'bread is buttered on' and is no longer being
fair in allowing dissenting opinion about dog mushing to published. The new policy of the
newspaper is apparently to let the 'local rednecks' gang up on the 'crazy animal rights
people from the south,' as was done in late 2007 in the case of a letter to the editor
about Yukon animal cruelty from the Animal Advocates Society of British Columbia -
shame on the Whitehorse Star!]. SEE 'MEDIA VILLAINS' PAGE

Yukon News

The Yukon News, although not an official race sponsor, has in the past, sponsored some individual
Quest mushers according to mushers' web sites. At least two of the paper's employees had, at points in
their journalism careers, worked as dog handlers for northern mushers. One of these ex-Yukon News
employees is Adam Killick, author of the book about the 2001 Quest, 'Racing the White Silence: On the
Trail of the Yukon Quest.'

To its credit, in the 2005 Quest, the newspaper had a headline about a musher using 'tough love' (as
did the Star) on his dog team to arrive first at the Dawson City checkpoint, winning a 'gold poke' prize
for his girlfriend. The 'tough love' consisted of running his dogs for fourteen hours, with minimal rest.
The Yukon News also printed two critical letters about the Quest, and had a front page photo of a
glassy-eyed, exhausted Quest dog in the basket of a musher's sled. In early 2006, the News printed a
letter to the editor from a Whitehorse resident about the Quest's lack of political correctness in holding
a raffle for a gas-guzzling 'Hummer' vehicle, whereas a local charitable organization, Habitat (For
Humanity) Yukon, was raffling off a 'Smart Car.' [Ed. Note - The Yukon News website is accessible by
free subscription.]

Northern Native Broadcasting Yukon

Even the voice of the Yukon First Nations people apparently largely subscribes to the point of view
espoused by the pro-mushing community. In 2005, the weekly television news program 'Nedaa'
produced a lengthy feature 'Mush for Gold,' which was heavily slanted towards promoting competitive
mushing, including the lobbying efforts of the mushing community to have sled dog racing featured as
a sport in the upcoming 2010 Olympics which will be held in Canada. [Thank you Roxanne
Livingstone and cameraman Luke Smith for the APTN National television interview during
the 2007 Quest.]

Reporting assignments for media (this especially applies to CBC Yukon/CBC North):

1. Visit the dog yards of Yukon Quest mushers and report on the level of care provided to the dogs
[e.g. - Are the dogs chained up or (preferably) kept in fenced enclosures? Do they have insulated dog
houses? Is the dog yard securely fenced off to protect the dogs from predators, to whom a chained
dog might make a tasty snack? Do the dogs have a fenced area where they can run free throughout the
day? Do Yukon Quest mushers cull (kill) unwanted/unneeded dogs (including puppies), and if so, are
they humanely disposed of? How about interviewing veterinarians such as those from AVAR, an
organization which is opposed to cruel and exploitative events like the Quest and Iditarod?]

2. Select a number of particular dogs who have competed in the Yukon Quest and monitor their lives
for a period of several years to see how they are doing, to ensure that they are being treated in a
manner that 'elite athletes' deserve to be treated.

3. Take a survey of dog yards throughout the Yukon (this applies to hobby mushers and sled dog tour
operators) and ask the same questions posed in assignment 1.

4. Question the various levels of government in the north (including First Nations governments) to
learn about what they intend to do help improve the shameful conditions in which many northern dogs
exist.

5. In conjunction with local animal protection organizations, help develop media spots to educate
northerners regarding humane treatment of their domestic animals.

6. For CBC only: as CBC Yukon/CBC North has already produced a promotional film for the
Yukon Quest, the organization owes the public a documentary devoted to addressing
humane issues in the north, affecting sled dogs and northern dogs.