SPORTS
Iditarod Penalizes Musher Dallas Seavey For Not Properly Gutting Moose That Injured Dog
Iditarod
Iditarod officials on Wednesday issued a two-hour time penalty to musher Dallas Seavey for improperly gutting a moose he killed after it injured one of his dogs on the trail.
The five-time Iditarod champion used a handgun to shoot and kill the moose at around 1:32 a.m. Monday, shortly after leaving the Skwentna checkpoint about 14 miles away. The moose had become entangled with Seavey’s dog team, and one injured dog, named Faloo, was flown to Anchorage for treatment.
Iditarod rules require mushers who kill a big game animal in defense of life or property to properly gut the animal and report it to officials at the next checkpoint. Gutting involves removing the internal organs and intestines.
Race marshal Warren Palfrey convened a three-person panel to investigate the incident, which occurred about 12 hours after the dayslong race began. The panel determined Seavey spent just ten minutes gutting the animal before continuing on for 11 miles before camping on a three-hour layover. Seavey arrived at the Finger Lake checkpoint at around 8 a.m. Monday, and reported the encounter to race officials.
I gutted it the best I could, but it was ugly, Seavey told an Iditarod Insider TV crew at the checkpoint. The moose carcass was recovered and butchered for meat.
Race officials on Wednesday said it had been determined that the animal was not sufficiently gutted by the musher. The panel imposed a two-hour time penalty. Penalties can reach a maximum of eight hours per infraction. The penalty will be added to Seavey’s mandatory 24-hour layover.
On Tuesday, Dallas Seavey Racing shared on social media that Faloo was in critical condition, but on Monday the injured dog’s outlook was better.
This super dog received excellent care from the Iditarod vet team and the team of vets at PET ER and she was cleared to come home! the team wrote on Instagram. Undoubtedly this will be a relief for Dallas to hear since he tragically had to leave her early on in the race.
Seavey on Wednesday night was the first to arrive at the Cripple checkpoint, the rece’s halfway point. As the first to arrive, Seavey earned the Dorothy G. Page Award, named after the Mother of the Iditarod, and a choice of taking home a prize of either $3,000 in gold nuggets or a smartphone with a year of free mobile service from race sponsor GCI.
There are 38 mushers competing in this year’s Iditarod, which begins in Anchorage and ends in Nome. The sled teams travel 975 miles, crossing two mountain ranges and the frozen Yukon River.
TMX contributed to this article.
