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Sled Dogs, Exposing the Cruel and Inhumane Truth Behind the Sled Dog Industry

by Jennie Richards · Published March 8, 2023 · Updated March 11, 2023

The latest in important documentary films revealing the truth about animals used and abused in industry is Sled Dogs, a searing exposé of the cruelty done to dogs in the state-sanctioned commercial sled dog industry operating in Canada and the U.S. Directed by Canadian filmmaker Fern Levitt, and five years in the making, Sled Dogs is a brutally honest examination and behind-the-scenes account of the shocking and horrifying treatment of dogs in the commercial sled dog industry where dogs are used for both tours and racing. The film looks at what happens at sled dog operations as well as when the Iditarod race comes to an end, and all the tourists head home.

The Iditarod myth that is propagated to tourists and the public is that the sled dogs are loved, well cared for, love running extreme distances in extreme conditions, and are superstar athletes who enjoy royal treatment—but this cannot be further from the truth, a truth that has very successfully been hidden from public view for far too long. Here are some realities the film reveals about dogs used in the sled dog industry:

Sick and injured dogs are pushed beyond their limits in Alaska’s 1000-mile Iditarod race
Hundreds of dogs are chained to posts 24/7 left outside in cold, freezing weather, extreme temperatures and miserable conditions, all year round
Dogs are killed or euthanized that are no longer profitable, or useful, or the costs of raising them isn’t profitable
Dogs that can’t run, are exhausted, worn out, injured, or no longer able to race – are often shot and killed
Terrified and scared dogs are forced to train, and training can involve forcing dogs against their will and cruelty
Dogs are starved sometimes for months to cut and reduce costs
After the Iditarod race, dogs have been culled and killed that are no longer useful
Sled dogs most often come from unethical “farmed” puppy mills where they are bred for the sole purpose of the sled dog business
No law in Canada or the U.S. protects these dogs from the cruel and inhumane conditions they are forced to endure
One example of the profound cruelty of dog sledding is: Outdoor Adventures Whistler that committed “execution-style killings” in which the owner wrestled dogs to the ground, stood on them, and shot them or slit their throats. The dogs were then dumped into mass graves
At Snowmass, Colorado’s Krabloonik Kennels (under the ownership of Dan MacEachen until 2014), the largest tourist dog-sledding operation in the United States, “excess” dogs were routinely shot in the back of the head and buried in a pit

Sled Dogs, Exposing the Cruel and Inhumane Truth Behind the Sled Dog Industry

Photo courtesy of Voices for the Krabloonik Dogs

Sled Dogs lifts the veil on the famous annual 1000-mile Iditarod dog race in Alaska and reveals the deeply cruel conditions the dogs are forced to endure, the months of harsh, unnatural and often cruel training, and the grueling race itself considered the equivalent of running 10 marathons in a row. One scene in the film recalls a local business who was found to have euthanized over 100 sled dogs when the costs of raising them no longer made it a lucrative business. Not only do laws not protect these dogs, but owners and mushers often treat the dogs as nothing more than mere private property used for profit, and when they aren’t useful, they are extinguished.

Sled dog touring and racing is an entirely unregulated industry in the U.S. and Canada. But as this film poignantly and painfully points out, either regulations must be put into place or this industry needs to be brought to an end.

How Can You Make a Difference?

Refuse to patronize commercial sled dog tours and races. Dogs need to be loved, respected, treated well, and given the chance to express their full range of behaviors. Just let dogs be dogs, don’t support businesses that use dogs for profit and treat them inhumanely.

Film Length: 82 Minutes

Film Awards

Winner World Documentary Award, Whistler Film Festival
Winner Best Female Directed Documentary Award, Whistler Film Festival
Winner Best Female Directed Documentary Award, Alliance of Women Film Journalists

Quotes from the Film

“This industry is an abomination.”

“It looks like a concentration camp when you come to visit it – [the dogs] they get starved, basically, for the summer months, for seven to eight months of the year.” – Zack Mills, Former Krabloonik Musher

“At the end of the season, all the dogs that couldn’t run—were shot.”

“The tourists and traveling public have no idea what is going on in these outdoor warehouses, where they are keeping these dogs.”

“When they’re tethered they may live in community with other dogs, but that’s not a community—it’s a prison.” – Dr. Rebecca Ledger, Animal Behavior Scientist

“The 100 dogs killed at Whistler is a horrible thing, but that is just the tip of the iceberg.”

“Sled dog businesses are not there for the welfare of the dogs.”

“Dogs that are kept on short chains the vast majority of their lives, is all happening out of sight, out of mind.”

“Most Canadians have no idea what goes on in the sled dog operations.” – Film Director Fern Levitt

“They’re like tools, that’s all that they are is a tool.” – Former Iditarod trainer

“The whole town runs like a good old boys network.”

“As a society we need to say enough!”