From dogs to cats to miniature horses, certain flight operators now permit pet owners to bring their animals with them on the plane as long as they are recognized as service pets.
The new ruling was announced by the federal government and refers to the travel of licensed service animals.
“With respect to animal species, we indicated that we would focus our enforcement efforts on ensuring that the most commonly used service animals (dogs, cats, and miniature horses) are accepted for transport,” the US Department of Transport stated to CBS 62.
In addition, the authorities pointed out that airlines might face fines if they decide to refuse the boarding of service dogs, cats, and miniature horses.
As for other service animals such as peacocks, turkeys, pigs, and so on, the airlines are permitted to decide whether or not to allow them to board based on a case-by-case basis.
According to the American Disabilities Act, service animals are different from emotional support animals and require special training to be recognized as such.
“Even though some states have laws defining therapy animals, these animals are not limited to working with people with disabilities and therefore are not covered by federal laws protecting the use of service animals,” The ADA Training Association states on their website.
Despite the new ruling, however, it is important to understand that for various safety reasons airlines are still allowed to refuse the boarding of so-called ‘emotional support animals’ on domestic flights.
The decision of whether or not emotional support pets are allowed on the plane depends solely on the airline that reviews the circumstances on a case by case basis.
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