Iditarod lost one of the last major sponsors

The American oil company ExxonMobil will stop sponsoring the famous annual Sled Dog Race Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in Alaska after criticism from animal rights activists. With this, Iditarod loses one of his biggest corporate sponsors.

ExxonMobil will stop sponsoring after the race of 2021, which starts every year on the first Saturday of March. This year is the 49th edition. PETA strongly criticizes the race and sponsors as ExxonMobil because the dogs would be ‘forced to run’ until they fall from exhaustion. Also, according to the opponents, the dogs are ‘exposed to dangerous conditions’.

The oil company has been a sponsor of Iditarod since 1978. Previously, Al Alaska Airlines and Wells Fargo withdrew as sponsors. The organizers of Iditarod and the’ mushers’, the drivers of the sledges drawn by polar dogs, refute the criticism. They say that there are many voluntary veterinarians on standby and that the dogs are thoroughly medically examined before the race.

By the way, this year the race has been cut a lot because of the pandemic. Now it’s 860 miles long, almost 1,400 kilometers. Iditarod is usually a trip of more than 1600 kilometers from Anchorage to Nome.