[nagdu] Re Resolution concerning Dog Guides

[Elizabeth Rene]

Does the ADA specifically require that service animals be admitted to zoos?

I have always been taught at guide dog school that it is potentially 
traumatic to a guide dog to be taken inside a zoo, and potentially 
distressing to the captive animals  there, too, because of pheromone cues 
not recognizable by humans, there being too many natural predators in one 
place.

I don't know where the zoological or veterinary or humane association 
communities  stand on this issue, but I'm surprised that guide dog access to 
zoos found its way into the statutory language of the ADA.

Is denial of access to zoos specifically prohibited, or is denial of zoo 
access to service animals simply not exempted from the bar against 
discrimination re public accommodations?

Guide dog schools teach their graduates to use good judgment for the 
protection of their dogs.  But who's to say what other service animal 
training programs do, or whether every service dog handler gives priority to 
his or her dog's well-being?

I support the scope and intent of the resolution, but I wouldn't want to see 
criminalized a reasonable restriction on service dog access  grounded on a 
legitimate interest in the animal's safety.

Elizabeth