IMPORTANT: US stops accepting live animals as cargo -- effective TODAY - Page 1

 This was just sent to me.  It would be prudent for folks to look into this, as it could destroy dog sports in this country.  I may not be around to reply, as I'm going to be running all day:

Subject: IMPORTANT: US stops accepting live animals as cargo -- effective TODAY

While this isn't important to anyone who shows/breeds/sells in the US only -- it's monumental for the rest of us. 

Today, the US Gov't stopped accepting live animals as cargo from anyone
other than brokers and licensed shippers.  This is a not an airline
rule, it's a US Federal cargo importation ruling.   The new rules for
cargo were announced a month ago but was widely assumed that they did
not apply to live animals.  It was only today that the airlines found
out and started calling clients to tell them their dogs could not fly. 
This rule applies not only to flying to but ground transportation,
too.  (and quite possibly handlers taking client dogs to shows!)    

I don't have much info but it does not matter if your dog is booked on
a flight tomorrow ... it will not go!  

This looks like the end of cross-border breeding and showing in the US and the end of importing dogs from other countries. Broker fees start at $300 and go up - that's in addition to the cost of shipping the dog (which has doubled recently).

Please cross post.   I will provide more information and links to the
actual rulings as I find them.   The person in charge of pet handling
for Continental Airlines is already on the case trying to get the rules
relaxed for live animals from Canada but the rule is firmly in place
until it changes. Sadly, all Continental personal are in Buffalo trying
to deal with the situation there ... so this issue will not be a
priority in the near future.

 

Surely there must be a mistake . How could this have happened ?   What about dogs already in transport  ? How could no one know this was about to be a law ?

 Absolutely ludicrous! Actions such as this has contributed to the state of the economy. Now instead of paying just for the shipping, which is alone is pricey, there will be a broker fee added for simply taking the customs paperwork from the custom's office to the airline cargo area. I just completed this task and was told  could have a broker do it for me for an additional $400 or do it myself. 

 Can someone please check into this and verify, or disprove the statement?  

Checking websites, nothing posted so far on delta, continental, etc.

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0ZCK/is_24_10/ai_62835360

Measures by U.S. majors to adopt policies to improve the transportation of pets are failing to placate animal rights groups, which remain critical of the air transport of animals as commercial cargo.

Activists have applauded the latest move to end the practice of pets traveling as checked luggage which many U.S. carriers have, or soon will be implementing. However, skepticism still surrounds airlines' plans to transport animals in cargo holds, a significant revenue generator for many airlines.

"In 1993 United Airlines [UAL] made over US$10 million transporting animals both commercially and privately," said Caitlin Hills, legislative specialist for the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS). "Whether animals are shipped as baggage or cargo they still go to the same place, into the cargo holds which are not properly ventilated and are not temperature controlled."

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) echoed the concerns of the HSUS. "On one hand we're thrilled," said Jennifer O'Connor, a cruelty caseworker for the organization. "But it's almost unbelievable as long as airlines make a ton of money (transporting pets as cargo)." She added: "It seems contradictory that it is too dangerous for some animals to fly if it's not dangerous for all animals." O'Connor said there is too much money to be made to stop carrying animals completely.

Commercial pet transport is so lucrative that some airlines place a significant value on their pet cargo customers. In an internal memo obtained by World Airline News dated June 1998, American Airlines [AMR] identified two of the pet companies it worked with as "premium cargo customers."

Hills said she hoped the summer embargoes by the airlines were not a tactic to manipulate the government's enforcement of recent regulations passed in FAIR 21 (Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reauthorization bill) which mandated U.S. carriers report pet accidents and train their baggage staff to handle animals properly. Diana Cronin of the Air Transport Association (ATA) said the embargoes were "absolutely not" a method for the airlines to placate federal regulators. "These policies have been in place for many years. Extra precaution in transporting pets has always been taken."

Airlines' claim their proactive nature by maintaining that they will not ship animals commercially if the temperature reaches 85 degrees Fahrenheit or above for over 45 minutes. However, they neglect to mention that this policy decision is mandated by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), the government agency responsible for establishing rules governing pet transport.

Continental Airlines [CAL] has taken a proactive move and announced earlier this month its plans to stop accepting pets as baggage permanently. Instead, the animals are to be transported as cargo through a new program called Quickpak, which will include a 24-hour live animal help desk, transporting the animals in climate controlled vehicles for connections in the carrier's Newark and Houston hubs and tracking and tracing capabilities. The airline said the added expense of the specialized services was not an issue. "It definitely pays off in the end," said an airline spokesperson.

Hills balked at Continental's program. "What is a 24-hour live animal help desk? When we called the number there was a recording," she said. The HSUS said there was the automated system offered personal contact with an airline representative only after multiple options were presented to the caller.

Perhaps some of the

That article is for summer embargo's which isn't unusual which is why I always use contintenal for us shipping.

Perhaps some of the confusion revolving around pet transport will be resolved once the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) issues guidelines for the airlines to comply with the new pet regulations. But the agency is dragging its feet. The DOT told WAN it was working with the USDA and FAA to draft the guidelines, but said no firm time commitment for issuance had been established.

According to O'Connor, the government's lack of attention to pet regulations is no surprise. "No one in the FAA or DOT is unaware, but frankly they've done nothing to intervene," she said. "It's business as usual and issues involving animals are low priority."

Still, the increased government enforcement could lead airlines to eliminate pet transport completely if the cost of transporting pets rises above the revenues. "If it came to the point where it was costing industry large sums of money we would have to stop," said Cronin. O'Connor, however, disagreed. "There's just too much money to be made. If they were going to stop transporting pets they would have done so by now."

Text of a June 1998 American Airlines Internal Memo to Customer Service Managers, Ramp Services and Field Services

"Premium PPS customers - Pet Destinations and Grand Pet/Pet Air/ will be exempt from the June 5-September 15 live embargo at all locations. Pet shipments from these two premium cargo customers will be accepted for transport during the embargo period provided exposure to temperatures above 85 degrees Fahrenheit does not exceed 45 minutes."

U.S. Carriers instituting summer embargoes on pets as checked baggage.

United Airlines

Trans World Airlines

American Airlines

Delta Airlines

If this were true I imagine that it would show up somehwere on a government website.  Can't find anything as of yet...here are our current regs :

http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dq/animal/dogs.htm

http://www.aphis.usda.gov/import_export/animals/animal_import/animal_imports_pets.shtml

This is the restricted list :

http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dq/animal/restricted.htm

Dogs arent on them.

~Cate

http://www.pijac.org/files/public/USDA_Transp.pdf

USDA EXTENDS COMMENT PERIOD

FOR TRANSPORT RULEMAKING