Alaska mushers are waiting for the release of a Canadian-made documentary film that is purportedly damaging to sled-dog racing.
Parts of the film were made with the help of Iditarod resources, yet early reports of the film’s content indicate it is actually an indictment against the sport.
“Sled Dogs” was directed by accomplished film producer and director Fern Levitt.
Levitt is an instructor at the Toronto Film School, and has a 20-year body of work behind her of films detailing serious social issues ranging from desegregation in the U.S. to a Canadian view the Holocaust.
So, why sled dogs?
Levitt received $400,000 in Canadian dollars from the Canadian Media Fund to produce the film, although the targets of the film are primarily two kennels: one in Whistler, British Columbia, the other in Snomass, Colorado.
The film is expected to make its debut at the Whistler Film Festival in December.
Voiceovers set the tone for the film, which seems to be linked with a now inactive website publishing a list of sled-dog kennels in Alaska, and accompanied by an unabashed plea for money to fight sled-dog kennel operations in Canada and the U.S.
A companion website — http://sleddogsfilm.com/get-involved/# — touting the film was apparently was taken down on Tuesday.
Fern Levitt zeros in Dan MacEachen, a Snomass, Colorado, a kennel owner who was charged with animal cruelty in 2013.
He pleaded guilty to one count of animal cruelty in 2015. Other charges were dismissed.
MacEachen competed in the Iditarod seven times.
The Aspen Times published an obituary for MacEachen, who died in February 2016. He was 67.
Other footage shows abuses at a kennel in Whistler, British Columbia, with gut-wrenching scenes of mud-splattered dogs on 4-foot long chains, with only a plastic barrel for shelter.
According to an article last year published by the Aspen Times, Levitt was commissioned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation to produce the documentary because of a high-profile case of dog – culling at a Whistler sled dog kennel.
The Times article said, “Levitt has been commissioned to find dog-sledding businesses in the U.S. and Canada that are managed as Levitt said, in a ‘humane responsible manner.’”
The documentary trailer does not indicate if the film includes any humane mushing examples.
Levitt did not respond to an email request for comment, nor did Stan Hooley, Iditarod Trial Sled Dog Race executive director.
The film has a run time of 82 minutes.
