In the foreword to the book "Of Dogs
and Men" by Kevin Walton and Rick Atkinson, HRH the Prince of Wales:
"The departure
of the last remaining huskies from Antarctica marks the end of an era . . .
. . It will always be difficult for those who have not shared the experience
to understand the pure delight of driving behind dogs and being utterly dependent
on them for life itself . . . ."
Since the earliest days of
Antarctic exploration, dogs, usually Huskies brought from Greenland or other
places in the Arctic were an integral part of life in Antarctica. They were
there for the practical purpose of transportation by pulling sledges before
reliable mechanized transportation was available.
In Antarctica reliable mechanized
transport came quite late, much later than in the rest of the world. Dog teams
were used as the reliable transportation of choice by many nations certainly
through the 1960's and well into the 1970's. After this time they were retained
in many places as a back-up to mechanized transport or for "recreational" purposes.
Many generations of Antarctic personnel on scientific bases regarded their experiences
in Antarctica as being greatly enhanced by the presence of the dogs and the
possibility of sledging trips with them.
In 1991 however, the fear that
distemper from dogs could spread to seals led to a new clause in the Antarctic
Treaty.
"Dogs shall
not be introduced onto land or ice shelves and dogs currently in those areas
shall be removed by April 1 1994".
Huskies were first used for transport
in Antarctica during the Southern Cross expedition
under Carsten Borchgrevink 1898 -1900
The last dogs were removed from Antarctica on Feb 22nd 1994
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