INUVIK - Whatever traditions dog mushers may follow, cruelty isn't one of them.

In the eye of the law, properly caring for animals and keeping with traditional dog-raising practices should never be mutually exclusive.

That's the message dog lovers from across the Beaufort Delta brought with them to Inuvik's public hearing for the proposed new Dog Act on Jan. 19.

More than 35 residents of Inuvik and surrounding communities including Tsiigehtchic, Fort McPherson, Aklavik and Paulatuk - many of them current or former dog team owners - showed up to debate changes to the Dog Act, which is scheduled to go before the legislative assembly once the new session opens next month.

Much of the debate focused on a controversial clause that states dogs should not be without adequate food, water, shelter or veterinary care except in cases of "generally accepted local or traditional practices of dog care."

A majority of people who spoke at the meeting expressed support for the acknowledgement of local aboriginal traditions, while others, including Beaufort Delta SPCA president Linda Eccles, condemned the clause as a loophole for animal cruelty.

"No one can be exempt from abuse," she said, suggesting the Act should clarify acceptable living conditions for dogs and increase sentencing options for animal abusers.

But most argued that dog owners are following tradition when they treat their dogs well, because the Gwich'in and Inuvialuit people's survival has depended on working dogs for centuries. Both sides of the debate seemed to be saying the same thing: cruelty is cruelty.

"If we're going to have a Dog Act, it should be inclusive to all dogs. There should be no finger-pointing at how people use dogs," said Inuvik Native Band Chief Herbert Blake. "I see dogs stuffed in handbags and used as fashion statements now. That troubles me. To me, that is a dog that's in distress."

Inuvik musher Mike Baxter, president of the Beaufort Delta Dog Mushers, said it's important the Act not lump mushers in with animal abusers. He compared his treatment of his dogs to the way a parent would treat a toddler.

"Just because you have some stakes driven in the ground and a few dogs on a string doesn't make you a dog musher," Baxter said.

Mushers also took issue with a clause in the proposed legislation that would prohibit them from keeping dogs harnessed unless also muzzled - a forbidden practice among dog racers because when muzzled the animals can't breathe properly. A similar clause would not allow harnessed dogs to be under the care of someone younger than 16 - a rule that mushers said would make junior racing at community events illegal and possibly have implications on harnessed guide dogs for the visually impaired.

Aklavik Mayor Billy Storr said it's clear the government needs to take its time and rework the legislation, regardless of whether a territorial election is coming up.

"This thing is being done in such a rush," he said.

Storr was one of several speakers to suggest the GNWT could really help communities by setting up spay and neuter programs and visiting veterinarian services - the costs of which are too expensive for most hamlets to handle on their own.

Tsiigehtchic bylaw officer Peter Ross wholeheartedly agreed. Fewer strays, he said, means fewer cases of neglect and, ultimately, fewer dead dogs.

"Sometimes when I have to shoot a dog, it takes a hell of a lot out of me," Ross said. "Putting a dog away is the hardest thing to do for a bylaw officer."

Under the new Act, bylaw and police officers would be given more authority to deal with abused or neglected dogs, and penalties for animal abuse would increase up to $10,000 in fines or six months in jail.

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