[nagdu] Airlines Must Let Passengers Fly With Pigs for 'Emotional Support'

[Ginger Kutsch]

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.