Airline loophole: What you can do about animal’s death

WHAT YOU CAN DO

• To report an incident and request an animal welfare investigation, contact the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal Plant Health Inspection Service at: USDA-APHIS-AC, 4700 River Road, Unit 84, Riverdale, MD 20737-1234. By email: ace@aphis.usda.gov. By phone: 301-734-7833.

• Main story: Airline loophole: Many animals' deaths not tallied

SPOTLIGHT: BY ALISON YOUNG

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• To voice your opinion to the congressional committees that oversee the U.S. Department of Transportation, contact:

U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye, chairman, Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, 508 Dirksen Senate Office Bldg., Washington, DC 20510-6125; or call: 202-224-5115.

U.S. Rep. Jerry Costello, chairman, Aviation Subcommittee, U.S. House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, 2251 Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20515; or call 202-225-9161.

TIPS FOR SAFE AIR TRAVEL

• Check the pet’s health. Heart conditions, breathing problems and other medical conditions are often cited as contributing to deaths.

• Think twice about flying snub-nosed breeds. Bulldogs, pugs, Persian cats and others like them are at high risk of breathing difficulties and overheating during air travel. At least 14 deaths reported in the past year involved such breeds.

• Use a strong crate. Make sure it’s made for airline shipping. Get the animal used to spending time in it. Help the pet to view its crate as a safe place so it doesn’t add to the stress of the trip.

• Don’t use tranquilizers. The American Veterinary Medical Association generally advises against sedating animals because drugs can cause breathing and heart problems at high altitudes.

• Fly nonstop. And try to avoid the chaos of holiday and weekend travel. And beware the risks of shipping animals in excessively hot and cold weather.

• Make your pet carry-on luggage. Some airlines will allow a limited number of small pets to fly under the seats in front of their owners. On some airlines, like AirTran, this is the only way a pet is allowed to fly.

For more tips and specific shipping requirements check your airline’s web site.

CHECK OUR SOURCES

• To read airlines’ animal incident reports, go to: http://airconsumer.ost.dot.gov/reports/index.htm

• To read the Federal Register document that details how regulators changed the definition of what is an “animal” go to: http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2003/pdf/03-20282.pdf

• Delta fined in 2005

• The U.S. Department of Agriculture fined Delta Airlines $187,500 for violations of the Animal Welfare Act. In a November 2005 consent order, Delta admitted responsibility for:

• The deaths of five of six young German Shepherd dogs on a May 2002 flight from Atlanta to Dayton, Ohio. The animals were in a cargo compartment with no cooling or air circulation during a two hour delay. The pilot turned the engines and air conditioning off to save fuel. “At least one of the passengers heard the dogs barking in a distressed manner,” the USDA found.

• The death and injury of three female English bulldogs from Asheville, N.C., to Atlanta in March 2000. One dog, named Bonnie, died of asphyxiation; two others suffered respiratory distress. The cargo space lacked sufficient space and ventilation, the USDA found.

• The death of a young coatimundi, a raccoon-like animal, in February 2002. The airline failed to give it food or water for four days when its owner failed to pick it up in New York.

• The loss of a 10-week-old Neopolitan Mastiff puppy that was flown from San Francisco to Newark in December 2001. After the flight arrived, the puppy disappeared from its crate. It was never found.

• The loss of an 8-week-old English bulldog in October 2004. The puppy was flying from Arkansas to Portland, Ore., via Dallas. The puppy arrived in Dallas, but its carrier was empty when the airline put it on a connecting flight. The puppy was never recovered.

• The death of a cat named Hereford during a November 2003 flight from Portland, Ore., to Greensboro, N.C., via Atlanta. Delta allowed the animal’s owners to fly with two other cats in the cabin. “Delta assured the cats’ owners that Hereford would be safe,” in cargo, the USDA wrote. Delta’s staff in Portland noted that Hereford appeared distressed, but shipped it anyway. The cat was dead on arrival in Greensboro.

• The October 2004 death of a 5-year-old cat named Smokey en route to Atlanta. The USDA found that Delta agreed to transport the 14-pound cat in a carrier that wasn’t large enough.