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TSA-Iditarod breakup irks Alaska senator

Sen. Mark Begich said he's 'shocked' that the TSA bowed to PETA's pressure and called off a publicity effort scheduled to coincide with the race.

By Yereth Rosen, ReutersFri, Feb 18 2011 at 12:27 AM EST
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Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race
DOG SLED RACE: The grueling 1,150-mile race from Anchorage to Nome, which starts this year on March 5, commemorates the 1925 delivery of serum for a diphtheria epidemic in the remote Bering Sea town. (Photo: ZUMA Press)
ANCHORAGE, Alaska - Alaska Sen.Mark Begich on Thursday blasted the Transportation Security Administration's decision to cancel a recruitment campaign aligned with the world's most famous sled dog race.
 
Begich, a Democrat, sent TSA Administrator John Pistole a letter saying he was "shocked and disappointed" to learn the agency had bowed to pressure from an animal rights group and called off a publicity effort scheduled to coincide with the upcoming Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.
 
"It is outrageous the TSA would act on one complaint from a group with virtually no understanding of the 'Last Great Race on Earth,'" Begich said, referring to People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, which opposed the TSA's involvement with the Iditarod.
 
The grueling 1,150-mile race from Anchorage to Nome, which starts this year on March 5, commemorates the 1925 delivery of serum for a diphtheria epidemic in the remote Bering Sea town.
 
"Nothing captures the Alaska spirit like the Iditarod," Begich said. "The original life-safety mission of the run continues today as hundreds of volunteers work year-round to ensure the mushers and dogs are safe."
 
The TSA had planned to use the race to help publicize job opportunities in Alaska, many of which remain unfilled.
 
But the agency backed out of the sponsorship deal after the Washington Post called TSA to ask about objections raised by PETA, the newspaper reported. The animal rights group has long criticized the race as inhumane, citing the 20 dogs that have died in competition since 2005.
 
The Post quoted TSA spokeswoman Kristin Lee as saying that the agency "immediately took action to ensure taxpayer dollars were being used wisely, focusing on our frontline security operations," after the Post's inquiry.
 
In a statement on Wednesday, PETA Vice President Daphna Nachminovitch said the TSA "made the right decision ... and we hope ... other sponsors will quickly follow suit."
 
Begich, in his letter to Pistole, said TSA's plan to use the Iditarod as a recruiting tool was sound.
 
"Since the Iditarod is closely followed by Alaskans ... in every corner of our state throughout the month of March, it is a great opportunity to reach rural Alaskans about job opportunities at TSA," Begich said.
 
Begich spokeswoman Julie Hasquet said various federal agencies have had similar deals with the Iditarod for years.
 
The U.S. Census Bureau last year sponsored one musher, Zach Steer, who passed out special dog booties to fans to encourage involvement with the 2010 population count. The U.S. Coast Guard also sponsors musher Ken Anderson, last year's fourth-place finisher, and coordinated public-education events with the Iditarod. And the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, which oversees much of the territory where the historic Iditarod Trail runs, is involved with race management.
 
(Editing by Steve Gorman and Peter Bohan)
 
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Related Topics: Activism, Animals, Green Jobs, PETA, Politics, Sports

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anonymous
Starbuck 09/29/2011 02:27 AM

The TSA is not an organization I would have expected to bow to pressure from anyone. I'm not sure that even Congress can bend them to its will - while the TSA can bend us all it wants. I have to wonder how many PETA members are on the infamous no-fly list.

The Iditarod is an Alaskan institution. In recent years, changes have been made to their regulations regarding the treatment of the sled dogs. There are checks at locations along the trail to make sure these protections for the dogs are.... More

anonymous
troy langston 04/02/2011 09:41 AM

People Eating Tasty Animals (peta) yeah I'm all for that or is that the group that protest animal abuse in bikinis hey I'm for that too decisions decisions decisions who shall we support I think I'll go get another hamburger

anonymous
Margery Glickman 02/19/2011 09:26 AM

Because of an action alert sent by The Sled Dog Action Coalition, the TSA received a huge number of emails asking them to drop their Iditarod sponsorship. At least 142 dogs have died in the Iditarod, including two dogs on a doctor's team who froze to death in the brutally cold winds. What happens to dogs during the race includes death, paralysis, frostbite (where it hurts the most!), bleeding ulcers, bloody diarrhea, lung damage, pneumonia, ruptured discs, viral diseases, broken bones, torn.... More

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