B.C. and Alberta sled dog handlers say a soon-to-air film, billed as an exposé of the northern dogsled industry, is misleading, and they want it pulled from a film festival.
Sled Dogs has been touted as the Blackfish — a documentary film that exposed the cruel treatment of an orca at San Diego's SeaWorld — of the dogsled industry.
The film documents the lives of racing dogs behind the scenes on the 1,600-kilometre Iditarod. Over the years, at least 140 dogs have died in the race.
But dog handlers say Sled Dogs paints an unfair picture of the industry. They want it pulled from the Whistler Film Festival lineup before the Dec. 3 premiere.
"I threatened legal action because no one from the film had talked with me, seen my kennel or met my dogs," said Megan Routley of Kingmik Dogled Tours, based near Banff National Park.