OUR ETHICAL RESPONSIBILITIES

The Welfare of Our Sled Dogs

We prioritise the good care and well-being of our sled dogs. We take care of the

physical well-being of our dogs by feeding them a high-quality, varied and balanced

diet, as well as providing them with training and work that suits each dog as an

individual; we also take each animal's age and potential physical and/or mental

limitations into account. We provide our dogs enough resting days even during the

winter season; our dogs are our co-workers and friends whom we value, first and

foremost, and not just a means to make money or production animals. Our dogs

have spacious dog kennels and runs, as well as a thermally insulated dog house

and a warm, short, fur-lined kennel. We look after our dogs mental well-being by

providing them with enough exercise and activities in the off-season, too; our dogs

also get to have social contact and build relationships with both humans and other

dogs. Our dogs well-being is also supported by having their own, safe, stress-free

pack and a clean environment to live in. We engage only in planned breeding for

our dogs, and do everything we can to avoid accidental litters. Individual dogs that

are not suitable as sled dogs or members of our pack are always primarily placed

as pets with people whose circumstances suit each animal. When our dogs are

elderly, they get to go into well-deserved "retirement" from their work and spend

their time in leisure and relaxation as family pets.

Sustainable Tourism

We are aware of and always follow regulations and legislation that apply to our

operations and to being in out in nature. We also closely follow various information

channels in order to stay up to date with any potential changes. In addition, we

follow the National Board of Forestry's Sustainable Tourism Principles when

operating on state-owned land, the Hossa National Park, and the Kylmäluoma

Hiking Area. We also follow the local sustainable tourism guidelines for the

Taivalkoski region.

Culture and Local Values

We take local culture into consideration in our operations. We do our best to

maintain and protect it, and we are also mindful of its vulnerabilities. We guide our

guests in getting to know the local culture and history in a responsible manner, and

in using local services. We favour local handicrafts, ingredients and materials, and

local cuisine and foodstuffs in our operations. We are committed to using as many

organically grown, environmentally certified, and seasonally available products and

ingredients as possible, as well as not using any meat, fish, or shellfish products

that are sourced from threatened or protected animal populations or species. We

also do our best to minimise food waste.

Collaboration

We collaborate with other local companies, and together we do our best to develop

and promote responsible and sustainable tourism and animal welfare. We treat

others with respect, and conduct ourselves as fair and honest collaborative

partners.

Equity

We treat everyone equally, and all of our guests are welcome regardless of religion,

nationality, gender, skin colour, or sexual orientation. We are committed to treating

all people as equals and promoting equal rights, and we do our part in fighting

corruption and the commercial, sexual, or other exploitation of children, teenagers,

women, minorities or other vulnerable groups, as well as harassment of any kind. In

addition, we work to promote social sustainability in our region to benefit both our

staff and our guests.

Nature and the Environment

We take into account the diversity of nature and the environment in all of our

activities, and do our best to protect it. We try to minimise the amount of waste we

produce as much as possible, and we always sort and recycle our waste. We do

not use disposable or single-use tableware. We choose to use environmentally

friendly cleaning supplies. We are committed to preventing and lessening the

environmental impacts of our activities, and we are actively working to promote

sustainability by developing our operations and activities and setting new annual

goals for ourselves.

Our Commitment

We are committed to working to protect the environment, and to developing our

operations by setting new environmental goals for ourselves and tracking our

success in tackling them. We do our best to keep our environmental awareness up

to date by following various media outlets and by taking part in e.g. various

trainings offered on these matters. We consider following the laws, regulations, and

other requirements the minimum level of doing our part, and we are committed to

exceeding the current sustainability requirements set by the legislation and

regulations. Backwoods Husky Oy wants to be part of the vanguard creating a

more sustainable tourism industry and to inspire other companies, customers, and

staff to do their part for sustainability initiatives. Backwoods Husky was granted the

International Green Activities certification due to its responsible and sustainable

environmental work on 02/2022.