The winner of the Finnmarksløpet 2022, Thomas Wærner, has been unanimously acquitted on all points by the Norwegian Dog Drivers’ Association. It was a group of seven dog handlers who had submitted the complaint against Wærner. The competitors believed that Wærner had broken both the Animal Welfare Act and the rules for dog racing by driving with dogs that were injured. As proof of this, they attached eight videos. The association’s sanctions committee comments on each individual video and concludes that none of them show a breach of the rules. Among other things, they point out that vets who approve the dogs are visible in the videos. A limping dog is filmed inside a checkpoint, but it is taken out before the start – completely in line with the rules, the committee believes. Neither the complaint nor the statement from the sanctions committee is public, but news has been given access to the statement. “Paparazzi” After Wærner was acquitted, Robert Sørlie took to the Hundekjøring group on Facebook and took issue with what he believes to be an emerging unculture in the dog sledding community. “The smear campaign against Thomas Wærner is an absolute low point that I distance myself from,” writes Sørlie. “I have to say that I long to return to the time when we drivers were really friends, even if we were competitors … The word solidarity does not exist in the environment anymore. Here it’s all about pushing each other down.” Robert Sørlie is Norway’s leading dog handler profile. He has won the Iditarod twice, the Finnmarksløpet three times and the Femundløpet ten times. Photo: Knut-Sverre Horn Sørlie swings the whip over the vast majority: He believes that dog handlers would rather find fault with others than concentrate on their own driving. He accuses the handlers (drivers’ assistants) of filming competitors and going to race management to hang them out. He accuses the vets of picking out drivers they are going to “take”, only to show the Norwegian Food Safety Authority and animal welfare officers that they are capable of action. Groundless accusations Sørlie believes there are many groundless accusations that dogs are injured and limp, based on how they look at the checkpoint or at the start. He points out that the dogs are quite naturally a little stiff and stiff after a rest. Also, they can run unevenly when the trail is uneven. “I have been driving dogs for 50 years and I cannot judge whether a dog is lame or just stuttering at 150 metres. The track up to the start can be very loose and lots of holes. But others can clearly judge this on this short stretch,” he writes sarcastically. Sørlie has not responded to news’s request for an interview. A veterinarian checks a husky during the Finnmark race. The role of veterinarians has been discussed after the Norwegian Food Safety Authority expressed doubts about whether they had sufficient authority to take out injured dogs. – Completely wrong attack Hundekjører Ronny Lindkvist reacts strongly to the play from Sørlie. – He abuses his experience and his star status. There are hardly any better dog walkers than Robert, but he claims things that are not right, says Lindkvist. He believes it is wrong to make Thomas Wærner a victim in the case. – There was a group that complained, and they address what is wrong with the system. The fact that it happens to be Thomas is not necessarily the main issue, says Lindkvist. He points out that chief veterinarian Arild Jøssund himself has said that there were lame dogs during this year’s Finnmark race. In an interview with Hello Musher, Jøssund said that they did not do enough. Jøssund also said that there are “strong personalities” who escape conditions for which other drivers receive a warning. – It is demanding both financially and sportingly to participate in the Finnmark race. Then people don’t accept being treated differently, says Lindkvist. The Norwegian Food Safety Authority asked for clearer rules for animal welfare after this year’s Finnmark race. An episode with Thomas Wærner was used as an example of unclear communication, but the inspection did not conclude that Wærner had done anything wrong. Anyone who takes good care of the dogs need not fear being filmed, says dog walker Ronny Lindkvist. Photo: Knut-Sverre Horn / news Must tolerate being photographed Lindkvist thinks it is good that dog sledding no longer takes place in secret, but is filmed and streamed on all channels. – If we are not going to tolerate being filmed and photographed, dog sledding is out. – Everyone films and takes pictures, not just traders. In particular, the leader and those at the top are filmed everywhere where there are people along the trail and at the checkpoints. – Does that mean that you are defending the filming done during the Finnmark race? – Not if the purpose is to get someone wrong, but if the purpose is to ensure equal treatment, perhaps that is what is needed. It is widely believed that the regulations are applied differently. It must be allowed to complain about it, says Lindkvist. – If you have your way, it is not dangerous if you are filmed.
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Robert Sørlie critical of video evidence against the winner of the Finnmark race – news Troms and Finnmark
