Campaigners from PETA have sent Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali a dead dog prop in a bid to persuade the Italian to end his company\u2019s backing of Iditarod – a notorious dog-sled race across Alaska\u2019s frozen tundra.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
More than 150 dogs have been killed as a result of this event since the first race took place in 1973, and animal rights groups have long campaigned against the deadly race.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Buy an F1 TV Pro subscription to watch live races<\/strong><\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cF1\u2019s sister company CGCI (under parent company Liberty Media) sponsors the deadly race to the tune of more than \u00a3180,000 a year,\u201d PETA emphasised in a statement sent to Formula1News.co.uk<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As part of its campaign against the event, PETA \u2013 an animal rights group founded over four decades ago \u2013 sent Domenicali a dead dog prop and a letter \u201curging him to tell Liberty Media to cut ties with the shameful event.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n This comes after a number of companies, including ExxonMobil and Coca-Cola, pulled their sponsorship of the Iditarod.<\/p>\n\n\n\n READ: Ferrari boss expects Sainz contract negotiations to be \u2018easy\u2019<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n They decided to pull their sponsorship of the event \u201cafter seeing video footage of hideously cruel living conditions for survivors of the race,\u201d PETA told Formula1News.co.uk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cDogs are forced to run until their bodies break down and they die after inhaling their own vomit in the Iditarod, yet Liberty Media has not yet joined the other big companies who have condemned the race,\u201d said PETA vice president of International Programmes Mimi Bekhechi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cPETA is calling on Formula 1 to tell its owner to hit the brakes on Iditarod support.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n