[Flagdu] Fw: [Gduf-l] Feds: Airlines Must Let Passengers Fly With Pigs for 'Emotional Support'

Fri Jul 13 14:57:22 UTC 2012

Well, isn't this interesting!!

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Patricia A. Lipovsky" <plipovsky at cfl.rr.com>
To: <plipovsky at cfl.rr.com>
Sent: Friday, July 13, 2012 10:17 AM
Subject: Fw: [Gduf-l] Feds: Airlines Must Let Passengers Fly With Pigs for 
'Emotional Support'

Passengers Fly With Pigs for 'Emotional Support'

>> Feds: Airlines Must Let Passengers Fly With Pigs for 'Emotional Support'
>>
>> By Elizabeth Harrington
>>
>> July 6, 2012
>>
>> Source:
>> http://cnsnews.com/news/article/feds-airlines-must-let-passengers-fly-pigs-e
>> motional-support
>>
>> (CNSNews.com) - Pot-bellied pigs must be granted passage on airplanes if
>> they are used for "emotional support" by their owners, states the 
>> Department
>> of Transportation's (DOT) draft manual on equity for the disabled in air
>> travel.
>>
>> The DOT published its "Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Disability in 
>> Air
>> Travel: Draft Technical Assistance Manual" in the Federal Register on 
>> July
>> 5, providing guidance that allows swine on airplanes if they are 
>> determined
>> to be service animals.
>>
>> The manual is designed to "help carriers and indirect carriers and their
>> employees/contractors that provide services or facilities to passengers 
>> with
>> disabilities, assist those passengers in accordance with" the Air Carrier
>> Access Act. The manual is open for public comments until October 3 and 
>> can
>> be viewed at:
>>
>> https://federalregister..gov/a/2012-15233
>>
>> Under the "Service Animal" section, the department lays out a scenario 
>> for
>> airline carriers entitled "Example 1."
>>
>> The manual states: "A passenger arrives at the gate accompanied by a
>> pot-bellied pig. She claims that the pot-bellied pig is her service 
>> animal.
>> What should you do?"
>>
>> "Generally, you must permit a passenger with a disability to be 
>> accompanied
>> by a service animal," reads the manual. "However, if you have a 
>> reasonable
>> basis for questioning whether the animal is a service animal, you may ask
>> for some verification."
>>
>> The manual instructs airline carriers and their employees to begin by 
>> asking
>> questions about the animal, such as, "What tasks or functions does your
>> animal perform for you?" or "What has its training been?"
>>
>> "If you are not satisfied with the credibility of the answers to these
>> questions or if the service animal is an emotional support or psychiatric
>> service animal, you may request further verification," the guidebook 
>> states.
>> "You should also call a CRO [Complaints Resolution Official] if there is 
>> any
>> further doubt as to whether the pot-bellied pig is the passenger's 
>> service
>> animal."
>>
>> If the answers are satisfactory, pot-bellied pigs, which can weigh as 
>> much
>> as 300 pounds, must be accepted aboard the plane.
>>
>> "Finally, if you determine that the pot-bellied pig is a service animal, 
>> you
>> must permit the service animal to accompany the passenger to her seat
>> provided the animal does not obstruct the aisle or present any safety 
>> issues
>> and the animal is behaving appropriately in a public setting," the manual
>> states.
>>
>> Last November, ABC News reported that a 300-pound pot-bellied pig flew on 
>> a
>> US Airways flight from Philadelphia to Seattle because the animal was 
>> deemed
>> a therapeutic companion pet.
>>
>> Wendy Ponzo, vice president of the North American Potbellied Pig
>> Association, said that the pigs can be used as service animals and can be
>> trained to open and close doors and use a litter box. "They also seem to
>> have a sense if the owner is not feeling well to stay by them," said 
>> Ponzo,
>> who has multiple sclerosis.
>>
>> "They help me a great deal when I feel at my worst," she said.
>>
>> The DOT's technical assistance manual is designed for airlines and
>> passengers with disabilities under the Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA). The
>> ACAA was passed in 1986 and bars discrimination against the disabled in 
>> air
>> travel.
>>
>> "It is designed to serve as an authoritative source of information about 
>> the
>> services, facilities, and accommodations required by the ACAA," the 
>> manual
>> states. The DOT says that the manual "does not expand carriers' legal
>> obligations or establish new requirements under the law."
>>
>> In its definition of service animal, the DOT includes creatures that 
>> provide
>> "emotional support." The manual defines a service animal as an "animal
>> individually trained to perform functions to assist a person with a
>> disability; Animal that has been shown to have the innate ability to 
>> assist
>> a person with a disability.or Emotional support or psychiatric service
>> animal."
>>
>> "You should be aware that there are many different types of service 
>> animals
>> that perform a range of tasks for individuals with a disability," the 
>> manual
>> states.
>>
>> "Be aware," it says, "that people who have disabilities that are not
>> apparent may travel with emotional support, psychiatric service, or other
>> service animals," it says.
>>
>> Though pot-bellied pigs are permissible, the DOT forbids some animals 
>> from
>> aircraft. "As a U.S. carrier, you are not required to carry certain 
>> unusual
>> service animals in the aircraft cabin such as ferrets, rodents, spiders,
>> snakes and other reptiles," it states.
>>
>> Miniature horses and monkeys, which the manual describes as "commonly 
>> used
>> service animals," are also permitted.
>>
>> On a case-by-case basis, the DOT says, animals can be turned away if they
>> are "too large or heavy to be accommodated in the aircraft cabin; would 
>> pose
>> a direct threat to the health and safety of others; would cause a
>> significant disruption in cabin service; or would be prohibited from
>> entering a foreign country at the aircraft's destination."
>>
>> As CNSNews.com previously reported, under new Americans with Disabilities
>> Act guidelines businesses also must permit miniature horses for use as
>> service guide animals on their premises.
>>
>> According to the DOT guidebook, if an animal is not accepted, the carrier
>> must document the decision in writing and provide it to the passenger 
>> within
>> 10 days.
>>
>> Foreign carriers only have to accommodate dogs as service animals, unless
>> the flight is code-shared with a U.S. carrier.
>>
>> Carriers must also provide "relief areas" for service animals. "With
>> respect to terminal facilities you own, lease, or control at a U.S. 
>> airport,
>> you must, in cooperation with the airport operator, provide relief areas 
>> for
>> service animals that accompany passengers with a disability who are
>> departing, arriving, or connecting at an airport on your flights," the
>> manual states.
>>
>> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>>
>>
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