PETA To Protest Iditarod Dog Treatment In Boulder

BOULDER, CO – Members of the animal rights organization People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals will protest on Thursday the corporate offices of a Boulder-based luxury hotel chain whose hotel in Alaska sponsors the Iditarod dog race.

PETA protesters said they will "tether themselves to barrels" to call for Millennium Hotels and Resorts to stop sponsoring the dog race, which they said is a "miserably cruel spectacle."

The organization recently released an online exposé of dog-sledding operations purportedly owned by Iditarod mushers. The organization said in a statement that their investigation revealed that "arthritic, crippled, and injured dogs were denied veterinary care; chained dogs had worn-down, raw, and bloody paw pads from frantically running in tight circles around the barrels; dogs were dragged and injured during training; and one was even killed."

"When dogs used in the Iditarod aren't being raced until their paws bleed and their bodies break down, they're left to spin in circles on a chain with no stimulation, no affection, no warmth, and no love," says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman in a statement.

Protesters are expected to show up around noon at the Millennium Hotels and Resorts' U.S. headquarters, located at 1345 28th St.