#they make it super expensive and annoying to go after our big game or traphy animals

[fagqueer]

Hi, Alaskan resident here! We have super strict rules about how to field dress animals, to dissuade people from wantonly killing animals that they think are a nuisance! So if you kill a moose, the state of Alaska has very strict regulations about how to gut it, how much meat is allowed to be left on the bone, and what to do with bones and antlers. You also can't get caught using meat for dog food cos that's considered wanton waste (which actually kind of sucks cos everyone I know with a dog team or teams is just about ready to take out a second mortgage for dog food). Look up our hunting regulations and you will find the craziest booklet of hunting regulations I have ever encountered in the US.

For obvious reasons, these regulations are translated into similar rules for the Iditarod. This situation kind of sucks cos these days most teams have a support freight dog or snow machine team that travels behind them, so there have been grumblings about letting support teams handle things like this. But TLDR: this situation sucks but they do have these rules for a reason!

Fun fact: It's so cold here in the winter that the state has a lottery you can register for and they'll call you if an animal in your area gets hit by a car or train, and you can go collect the animal to butcher it.

I love this place