Unfortunately, shipping dogs in airplane cargo holds has become increasingly dangerous. The research below summarizes the dangers of shipping animals in the cargo compartments of airplanes. “Five hours after 81 healthy puppies were put aboard a TWA passenger jet en route from Kansas City to St. Louis, baggage handlers discovered 50 of the puppies were dead due to heat exposure of suffocation. When a Continental jet bound for Denver was delayed for three hours in Philadelphia, three of the five Samoyed dogs being transported in the plane's cargo hold were found dead on arrival.” According to the Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF), “Too many animals needlessly suffer injury or die each year—and an airline’s only liability for the often gruesome death of a beloved pet is limited to the value of a piece of luggage.”
Read more. According to an article published by the New York Post, “A November study by the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in San Francisco found that animal crates are almost always shipped along with routine baggage in cargo holds with no air conditioning or air circulation. Temperatures routinely exceed 115 degrees. ‘These animals are struggling to breathe, their hearts are racing, and they’re in a panic, suffering extreme stress and anxiety,’ said Dr. Lila Miller, Senior Director and veterinary adviser for the New York based ASPCA.”
Read more. “‘Definitely fly your puppy in the cabin as you coo and feed him tiny treats…’ advises Tufts University veterinary behaviorist Nicholas Dodman, BVMS…
‘For a young pup during the crucial formative time in his life, being jostled in a cargo hold as a noisy plane takes off and lands is akin to taking Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride at a theme park. Any “horrendous experience,” Dodman says, ‘can have long-lasting, lifetime effects.’”
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“In 2000, Congress told the airlines to start filing reports about animal deaths and injuries…” at the urging of the Doris Day Animal League, who reported to Congress that “animals have been left sitting on the tarmac for hours, sometimes days; they’ve been abandoned in cargo areas; they’ve been put on the wrong flight or no flight at all; and they have escaped and have never been recovered.” Read more. |
 | “The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)… states that… there is limited temperature control and very little ventilation in these luggage compartments. Moreover, one airline pilot stated that, even with temperature control, these are often imprecise. Crew members, he said, “rely on passenger complaints” to gauge the temperature in the passenger section. In the belly, where temperature control is even more imprecise, there is no one to hear the animals complain.” Read more.According an article published by the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association, “…Air travel can be a very stressful and traumatic experience for them [pets]… The hazards of air travel are usually… the down time[s] when your pet is being loaded or unloaded from the airplane, or when it is waiting… At these times the cargo holds are not pressurized and the surrounding temperature can vary from very hot to very cold.”
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According to the Canine Inherited Disorders Database, “Overheating is especially dangerous in these (brachycephalic) breeds, because increased panting… can cause further swelling and narrowing of the already constricted airways, which will increase your dog’s anxiety. Excitement, exercise, or warm weather (and especially a combination of these factors) can trigger this vicious cycle.” Read more. “Several humane organizations and some veterinarians warn of hazards for dogs in the cargo holds of planes, citing incidences of dogs injuring themselves as they claw at the crate to try to escape or escaping when crates open accidentally on a tarmac. Don’t fly pets if… the pet isn’t small enough to fit in a carry-on kennel you can take into the cabin, advise[s] the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and the Humane Society of the United States.”
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