[NAGDU] Emotional support pig? That may not fly. Stricter rules are proposed for service animals on planes By Hugo Martin.. Article from Los Angeles Times Business Section 2020 01 23

[Lillian Scaife]

Emotional support pig? That may not fly. Stricter rules are proposed for
service animals on planes By Hugo Martin.. 

The next time you fly on a commercial airline, you many notice fewer
emotional support peacocks, rabbits, goats or other creatures sharing the
cabin. The U.S. Department of Transportation proposed new regulations
Wednesday that would tighten the definition of service animals that get to
accompany their owners for free to trained dogs only. 

Passengers who want to fly with a so-called emotional support pig, duck or
other species must pay a fee and transport it like any other household pet,
which on most airlines means they must fit on a passenger's lap or under the
seat. Service animals must be professionally trained to perform tasks or
assist a passenger with disabilities, including psychological disorders. The
proposed rules come after years of debate over whether airlines must accept
a wide variety of animals to accompany passengers under a federal law that
prohibits discrimination against airline travelers with disabilities. 

Airlines and federal regulators concede that the 1986 Air Carrier Access Act
is so vague on the subject that it has allowed a surge of travelers in the
last few years who claim they can fly only if they are accompanied by their
emotional support rabbits, birds, reptiles or other creatures, leading to an
increase in animals biting, barking, snapping and urinating on planes. 

Albert Rizzi, founder of My Blind Spot, a nonprofit organization that
advocates for people with disabilities, called the proposed rules "long
overdue. Rizzi, who is blind and uses a trained service dog, said so many
fliers try to pass off their pets as service animals on planes that
travelers with legitimate disabilities face mistrust from flight crews and
other passengers. Rizzi said he was thrown off of a US Airways plane in 2013
for that reason. "It compromises my ability to have a guide dog," he said.
Under the proposed rules, passengers who want to travel with a trained
service dog can fill out forms that attest to a service animal's good
behavior and good health, and for a long flight, that it "has the ability to
either not relieve itself, or can relieve itself in a sanitary manner. The
rules also prohibit airlines from banning a service dog based solely on its
breed but let carriers restrict dogs that "exhibit aggressive behavior and
that pose a direct threat to the health or safety of others. 

Among other elements of the rules, the Department of Transportation would:
Allow airlines to require passengers to check in at the airport one hour
before the plane's departure to "ensure sufficient time to process the
service animal documentation and observe the animal" for possible aggressive
behavior. Allow airlines to limit to two the number of service animals
traveling with a single passenger. Allow airlines to require a service
animal to fit within its handler's foot space on the aircraft. 

Continue to allow airlines to require that service animals be harnessed,
leashed, tethered or otherwise under the control of its handler. 

In the past, some disability rights groups have recommended that only dogs
and miniature horses be accepted as service animals. The horses, according
to some disability advocates, are preferred over dogs by some travelers for
religious reasons or because of their long lifespans or because of
dog-related allergies. 

The proposed regulations give airlines the freedom to allow any species of
animal to accompany a passenger for free but would recognize only trained
dogs as service animals. "Dogs also have both the temperament and ability to
do work and perform tasks while behaving appropriately in a public setting
and while being surrounded by a large group of people," the Department of
Transportation said in its proposed regulations. 

The agency is accepting comments on the proposed rules for the next 60 days
before deciding whether to adopt them. 

The proposal was met with support from a major flight attendants union,
whose members have complained about the dangers of flying with untrained
animals in a confined, crowded cabin. "Passengers claiming pets as emotional
support animals has threatened the safety and health of passengers and crews
in recent years while this practice skyrocketed," said the Assn. of Flight
Attendants, which represents 50,000 flight attendants at 20 airlines.
"Untrained pets should never roam free in the aircraft cabin," the union
said. "Flight attendants have been hurt and safety has been compromised by
untrained animals loose in the cabin. A trade group for the nation's
airlines also backed the proposed rules, saying it would make flying safer. 

"Airlines want all passengers and crew to have a safe and comfortable flying
experience, and we are confident the proposed rule will go a long way in
ensuring a safer and healthier experience for everyone," said Nicholas E.
Calio, president and chief executive of Airlines for America. The Humane
Society of the United States applauded the federal agency for proposing a
prohibition on airlines from discriminating against certain dog breeds. 

In 2018, Delta Air Lines, one of the nation's largest carriers, banned pit
bulls as emotional support animals, citing two incidents in which Delta
employees were bitten by a pit bull traveling as a support animal. "For too
long, pit bull-type dogs have been maligned in sensationalized media
reports, in poorly constructed laws and now in airline policies affecting
the millions of people nationwide who live with disabilities," said Kitty
Block, chief executive of the Humane Society. 

"A growing number of municipalities and states are rejecting these policies
because they are costly to taxpayers, a waste of public resources, and have
no impact on public safety. The proposed regulations acknowledge that the
vague language in the Air Carrier Access law led to passengers who presented
their household pets as emotional support animals to avoid paying airline
pet transportation fees. Dog vests emblazoned with the words "Service
Animal" are readily available for purchase online, and psychologists say
they have been under increased pressure from their clients to draft letters
that certify they can fly only with an emotional support animal. 

In the preface to the proposed rules, the Department of Transportation
explains the need to draft new regulations by noting that passengers have
attempted to fly with many unusual species including a peacock, ducks,
turkeys, pigs and iguanas, "causing confusion for airline employees and
additional scrutiny for service animal users. The agency said the increase
in animals on planes has eroded the "public's trust and confidence in
service animals" and forced airlines to spend more time and energy "each
time an unusual or untrained animal is presented for transport on an
aircraft.