Being in a cage inside a large flying machine with no humans in sight would be enough to make anyone nervous. But for pets who travel in the cargo hold of a plane, it can be deadly. Delta Airlines is the latest company to ban pets from traveling in the cargo hold of their planes with the rest of the checked luggage.
The decision comes in the wake of 74 pet deaths resulting from travel in the cargo holds of Delta flights in the past decade. While that’s an extremely small percentage of deaths considering the thousands of pets that travel on flights each year, it accounts for 25% of all pet deaths on airlines in the United States. An additional 14 pets have gone missing.
Once the new policy goes into effect, American Airlines will be the only United States airline that will still allow pet travel in the cargo hold. The Humane Society of the United States strongly discourages pets being checked in with luggage. Delta’s only exception to the new rule will be for active members of the military with active transfer orders or those who require a service animal. Some pets can still travel in the cabin for a fee.
I’m with the Humane Society on this one. It’s hard on a pet to travel in an unusual and scary situation. There are many other options, including ground travel, that are much safer for pets. What do you think? Is this a good move to keep pets safe, or is it too much of an inconvenience? Let us know in the comments!
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