Dogs are banned in Antarctica: Here is why
When you imagine sledge dogs, you think of Antarctica. After all, that’s where you think one would find those huskies. But not anymore. Do you know they were banned from entering Antarctica as early as 1994? Yes, the hard-working sledge dogs are not allowed in the South Pole in accordance with the Environmental Protocol Treaty, This is because apparently, they pose a risk to the survival of seals. Let us find out the history of these dogs in Antarctica.
The dog ban of Antarctica: What happened?
Dogs were banned from the South Pole in 1994 because according to environmentalists, they were spreading a canine infection to seals. It was feared that dogs might introduce diseases such as canine distemper that might get transferred to seals. In such cases, they could break free and disturb wildlife. This issue was first raised in 1990 when it was noticed that over half of the North Sea seal population was wiped out in a strange epidemic. This epidemic was thought to be linked to canine distemper somehow. And therefore, the British Antarctic Survey immediately stopped breeding the huskies. Their number dwindled from 400 in 1990 to just 14 which were finally removed in 1994.
Introduction of dogs in Antarctica
Dogs first arrived in Antarctica in 1899 when 75 of them were landed by the ship Southern Cross of the British Antarctic Expedition at Cape Adare in the Ross Sea area. They started to be used heavily after Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen and his team resorted to them to reach the South Pole in 1911 and were the first to be successful. The use of dogs for transport was a vital part of Amundsen's success in reaching the Pole and that established their credibility for polar travel and other scientific work. Although dogs were slower than vehicles, they were considered to be safer as they were not so heavy and could pull sledges before reliable mechanised transportation was available. Reliable mechanised transport came quite late to Antarctica, much later than in the rest of the world due to the particular challenges posed by cold temperatures and rugged terrain.
Dogs were exchanged between different bases in Antarctica (for example, Argentinian base, San Martin) so as to maintain genetic diversity. However, it was essential to keep records of breeding to avoid producing dogs affected by hereditary disorders.
Of sledge loads, food and diseases
Later, in the 1950s, a scientific method began to be applied to sledge dogs. A sledge load of 54.5kg per dog was considered to be a fair maximum. This was confirmed with strain gauges measuring the pull a dog could exert, though this could vary by 50% from day to day dependent on a number of factors such as temperature, diet, snow surface and even the mental effects of a long monotonous journey on the dog.
What did they eat? Where possible dogs were fed with seal meat which was found to be the best overall food, given with blubber and skin in the winter and when working and with less blubber in the summer months when less energy is needed to maintain body temperature and condition.
However, occupational osteoarthritis was found to be a major problem amongst sledge dogs which limited their useful working life to about 7-8 years. The result of continuous work led to the erosion of cushioning cartilage pads in the hips and shoulder joints of the dogs from continuous exercise under the pressure placed by the sledge harness.
Phasing out of dogs as transport
During the 1960s and 70s, dogs were gradually replaced by mechanised transport. Skidoos, small snow motor vehicles, started becoming the main vehicle for transporting overland. However, still a small population of dogs was kept at Rothera Research Station, over the next two decades, but primarily for recreational purposes. Imagine how you feel in the company of your pet dog! Same way these dogs which had been there for a long time gave the station personnel a homely feeling boosting their morale. The last dogs were taken from Antarctica in February 1994 as a consequence of the environmental protocol.