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This year’s Festival du Voyageur is not holding dogsled events although a spokesperson confirmed they did have them last year as part of the event’s 50th anniversary.

“It was brought back for the 50th anniversary last year, and we ensured that the dogs were treated fairly and weren’t overworked,” said spokesperson Lor Brand in an email. “I’m an absolute dog lover and got to see and interact with them first hand throughout the festival last year.”

While grateful that the Festival was not holding dogsled events this year, Valenzuela said the protesters hope their presence will spark “positive” conversation with the public.

“I want them to really look at dogsledding races and why it needs to be banned,” she said. “It’s really, really cruel for the animals. It’s terrible.

“It’s kind of like the happy farm, happy animals visage we have for eating animals and how they live on farms. When it comes to dogsledding, lots of people just see dogs pulling a sleigh when they’re actually suffering and it’s very terrible. It’s not good for their health at all.”

Photo by GLEN DAWKINS/Winnipeg Sun/Postmedia Network

Earlier this week, the Manitoba Metis Federation held a dogsled trek from Kenora to near East Braintree, Man., in honour of the 150th anniversary of Manitoba’s entry into Confederation. Reineke said the protesters take issue with the commercial operations, not the traditional use of sled dogs

“If you look at the native cultures that used dogs, they would have only had a couple of dogs and the dogs would have slept with them and they would have cared for them,” said Reineke. “These commercial industries have 250 dogs in fields on five-foot chains. It’s not the same traditional way anymore, it’s a commodity where when the animal doesn’t perform anymore they shoot it in the head. That wouldn’t happen on a traditional native reserve.”