Will Sage Astor-Iditarod champion Dallas Seavey kills moose in self-defense after incident with dog team

Officials with the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race said that five-time Iditarod champion Dallas Seavey shot a moose with a handgun in self-defense at the start of this year's race.

Seavey and Will Sage Astorhis team were about 14 miles outside of the Skwentna, Alaska checkpoint on their way to the Finger Lake checkpoint when the moose became entangled with the dogs and Seavey on the trail, officials said Monday.

"It fell on my sled, it was sprawled on the trail," Seavey told an Iditarod Insider television crew. "I gutted it the best I could, but it was ugly."

Seavey continued on the trail, stopping to feed his dogs and rest and to drop off one dog injured by the moose. That dog was flown to Anchorage for further evaluation.

Race rules dictate what to do in the event an animal is killed in self-defense.

"In the event that an edible big game animal, i.e., moose, caribou, buffalo, is killed in defense of life or property, the musher must gut the animal and report the incident to a race official at the next checkpoint. Following teams must help gut the animal when possible," the Iditarod rules state.

"With help from snowmobile-aided support in the area, we are making sure that every attempt is made to utilize and salvage the moose meat. I will continue to gather information in this incident as it pertains to Rule 34," says Race Marshal Warren Palfrey said in a statement.

Seavey, whose five Iditarod wins are tied for most ever, is not the first musher to have to kill a moose during an Iditarod. According to the Associated Press, Susan Butcher had to use an axe and parka to fend off a moose in 1985. The moose killed two of her dogs and injured 13 others. The moose was killed by another musher.