Statement on the welfare of dogs used for dog sledding

29/01/2018

Concerns have been raised about the living conditions for dogs owned by an Ontario dog sledding company.

We are deeply concerned about the animal cruelty allegations made against a company that offers dog sledding experiences in Ontario.

World Animal Protection believes that dogs and all animals kept under human control must be provided with the Five Freedoms of Animal Welfare to prevent suffering. The Five Freedoms are as follows:

Freedom from hunger or thirst
Freedom from discomfort
Freedom from pain, injury or disease
Freedom to express natural behaviour
Freedom from fear and distress

While our current program work is focused on phasing out cruel wildlife attractions, we cannot ignore the fact that many domesticated animals including sled dogs, donkeys and camels are impacted by tourism as well.

Many of the travel companies that we have worked with over the years have agreed to apply their animal welfare policies to both wild and domesticated animals alike.

We are glad that people are speaking out against this cruelty and that the Ontario SPCA are investigating. If you know or hear about animal cruelty, please report it to your local SPCA or to the police.

Standards for dog sledding

Canadians should remember the cruelty case which saw 100 dogs inhumanely culled in Whistler, BC. It took this horrific incident for the BC government to move forward with establishing industry regulations and standards of care. BC is seen as having the best standards that exist for the dog sled industry: The Sled Dog Code of Practice.