A local animal rights group is speaking up for man’s best friend, while putting a spotlight to the “dark side” of the business.
Canmore-based Canadian Coalition for Sled Dogs (CCSD) is advocating for standards that would ensure ethical treatment for animals in sled dog touring, racing and recreational activities – including an end to shooting as a form of euthanasia.
The not-for-profit’s proposed standards include humane kennel management, tethering and penning practices, free run requirements, veterinary care, mandatory dog registration, adoption outlines, and a strict no-kill policy for controlling numbers and more.
CCSD, made up of a broad range of participants, said that an educated, regulated permitting body would monitor kennels to ensure fully-disclosed, transparent operations.
“(Dogsledding) has grown so much, and has never been regulated – it’s the oddest thing,” said CCSD President Connie Creighton. “When I started 37 years ago, it was self regulated by the small group of people involved. With the coalition, when we launched it (in 2012), we had lots of people involved, more interest, and the government assisting and directing us to make a new code of conduct and ethics codes and an audit system.”
Creighton admits it’s a “work in progress” with federal and provincial governments, although proposed standards have received a “high interest” in the matter.
It might sound strange, said Creighton, but the group can’t go forward with the plans unless the government allows CCSD to do so.
Alberta’s Tourism and Culture department did not respond to the Outlook’s interview requests.
Canmore’s Snowy Owl Sled Dog Tours president Jereme Arsenault supports the proposed standards.
He said regulations would ensure the dogs aren’t treated like “machines or slaves.
“Someone’s got to do something,” said Arsenault. “Since we’ve used dog sleds, there have been no rules or regulations specifically developed … it’s a pretty primitive way of governing something that has become big.”
In the Bow Valley, a desired winter activity for many visitors is a sled dog tour.
Snowy Owl Tours sees about 16,000 people every winter and has 187 sled dogs (including puppies) and six different breeds of husky within its operation.
For food alone, this adds up to an approximate annual $1,000 bill per animal at Snowy Owl.
“The thing is, most operators rarely are able to stay in it,” Arsenault said, speaking towards the financial strain a sled dog operation can cost. “Instead of taking cuts for themselves, it’s the dogs that take cuts.
“I think a lot of clients choose us based on ethics; I would say 40 per cent of our clients. Most (sled dog operators) will not bring tours to where the dogs live, but we do.”
The majority of sled dog operations are “very ethical” in their practices, but Creighton referenced an incident in 2010, where dozens of sled dogs were killed in a mass cull in Whistler, B.C.
The cull, where the bodies of 56 sled dogs were found, was carried out by an employee at Outdoor Adventures Whistler following an order to shoot or slit the throats of the animals by operator Robert Fawcett.
The cull was prompted by a downturn in business post-Vancouver Winter Olympics.
CCSD doesn’t believe in shooting as a form of euthanasia for any animals.
“It’s a Canada-wide concern, sled dogs can be culled,” said Creighton. “If they’re going to have to put a dog down … we believe veterinarians should be consulted. It’s so easy to take matters into their own hands and not really understand what they’re doing.”
