# Site General > Pet Related Laws & Legislation >  The Headline Reads: No Snakes On The Plane

## Ax01

i ran outta space in the thread title. the full headline from a Forbes article the other day reads *No Snakes On The Plane: American Airlines Cracks Down On Emotional Support Animals*.

what do u think of that headline? it's a play on words and references the movie. but is it also a dig at snake owners specifically?

anyways it's been awhile since we discussed one of our fav topics - ESA's - and some airlines have updated their policies and staff training. American Airlines announced their new policy the other day which will go into effect this July 1st - right in time for the Independence Day, 4th of July and summer travel rush.

the article: https://www.forbes.com/sites/michael.../#6c8f80d921d5




> Business travelers on US airlines have often felt they were instead boarding Noahs Ark, encountering emotional support roosters, snakes, pigs, monkeys, hamsters, dogs and even a purported emotional support peacock that ruffled Uniteds feathers. Yet thousands of flyers will not board without their support animal. Now the other shoeor pawhas dropped, and American Airlines has followed United and Delta in an attempt to bring some order to the menagerie.
> 
> American just put out an announcement detailing what the airline calls, in wonderfully Orwellian language, the enhanced requirements for traveling with emotional and/or psychiatric support animals. According to a spokesman, American wanted to get input from disability advocacy groups before initiating the new regulations, which focus primarily on emotional support animals, not trained service animals.
> 
> The enhanced requirements, of course, are actually a set of limitations. For example, traveling with a service or emotional/psychiatric support animal will also bar both of you from sitting in comfortable exit row seats for safety reasons. If an approved animal meets the list of enhanced requirements, it can fly with you if it can fit at your feet, under your seat or in your lap. If the animal is to be seated on your lap, it must be smaller than a 2-year old child. And emotional support and service animals (categories that many experts believe are quite different) cannot protrude into or block aisles, occupy a seat, and, no matter how cute or clean, eat from tray tables.
> 
> The behavior of even approved service animals will be monitored. The owner is expected to keep his companion under control at all times, and tethered by leash and/or harness. Growling, biting or attempting to bite and jumping on or lunging at people are no-nos. Mysteriously, American states the penalty if such behavior isnt corrected or controlled (also known as being a bad boy) is not ejection at the next airport but that the animal will be considered a pet and all pet requirements and applicable fees (typically $125) will apply. Like other airlines, American now bans a wide range of dogs and cats from traveling as checked baggage, from pit bulls and boxers to brachycephalic or snub-nosed dogs and cats like bulldogs and Boston Terriers.
> 
> So who qualifies as a support animal on Americanand who doesnt? Its hard to believe anyone would use a spider or insect as a support animal, but they are now specifically banned. So are amphibians, ferrets, goats, hedgehogs and rodents like the emotional support hamster tragically flushed down an aircraft toilet.  Animals with tusks, horns or hooves are specifically verboten, which probably excludes emotional support pigs. However, there is a specific exception to the no hoof rule for miniature horses that have been properly trained as service animals. Flyers also must just say no to reptiles and snakes, as well as non-household birds such as farm poultry, waterfowl,  game birds and birds of prey. The eagle may be part of Americans logo but it wont be joining you in the cabin.
> ...


they specifically ban reptiles, amphibians and invertebrates. i also find it in interesting some breeds of dogs are also banned like pitbulls, boxers and bulldogs (snubnose breeds) and that previously these dogs traveled w/ their owners in the flight cabin as "checked luggage." i think alotta Pug owners are gonna be really upset. also no aisle seat for those w/ ESA's and your ESA must be in your lap or on the floor between your legs.

so if you're planning to travel with your ESA or animal, know the new rules. there's alotofthem. here's the American Airlines policy specifically:


from here: https://www.aa.com/i18n/travel-info/...ce-animals.jsp

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*Bogertophis* (05-18-2018),_Godzilla78_ (05-18-2018),_Trisnake_ (05-19-2018)

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## JRLongton

Personally, I wouldn't allow any animal, including seeing eye dogs. The cabin of a plane is just too confined a space and all animals can be unpredictable at times. It's stressful for humans, imagine how a dog or cat (to say nothing of a reptile!) would feel!

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## MasonC2K

One person's emotional support animal is another's emotional distress animal.

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C.Marie (05-18-2018),Craiga 01453 (05-18-2018),_Godzilla78_ (05-18-2018),_Trisnake_ (05-19-2018)

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## Momokahn

Let me see.  The last time this came up was the emotional support squirrel I believe.  

I don't believe ANY legislation should have been or should ever be enacted in the future for "emotional support animals".  Dang just go the Wal-Mart and buy a pacifier for 69 cents if you are that unstable.  I don't hate animals. I have 4 snakes, a dog, 2 parrots, 2 guinea pigs, a bearded dragon, a ferret, and several cats outside.  They need my support, not the other way around.

Before the replies come rolling in saying I don't have a clue, all I can say is really?  I have 2 daughters in the military with another daughter joining the military next month.  You might think well that's nothing on a parent "emotionally" since it is girls in the military.  Well I can divulge this much, ask ISIS how much they liked my daughters. 

 I could fill this forums server on more with myself personally but there is no need.  I just suck it up Buttercup, as well as my 2 daughters do and I comfortably walk past the pacifiers each day in Wal-Mart.

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## Kira

> Let me see.  The last time this came up was the emotional support squirrel I believe.  
> 
> I don't believe ANY legislation should have been or should ever be enacted in the future for "emotional support animals".  Dang just go the Wal-Mart and buy a pacifier for 69 cents if you are that unstable.  I don't hate animals. I have 4 snakes, a dog, 2 parrots, 2 guinea pigs, a bearded dragon, a ferret, and several cats outside.  They need my support, not the other way around.
> 
> Before the replies come rolling in saying I don't have a clue, all I can say is really?  I have 2 daughters in the military with another daughter joining the military next month.  You might think well that's nothing on a parent "emotionally" since it is girls in the military.  Well I can divulge this much, ask ISIS how much they liked my daughters. 
> 
>  I could fill this forums server on more with myself personally but there is no need.  I just suck it up Buttercup, as well as my 2 daughters do and I comfortably walk past the pacifiers each day in Wal-Mart.


No need to be so insensitive. When I was 20 my parents sold the only home I had ever known and moved to California. I stayed in Oregon and lived with my friend's insane parents. 6 months later my dad unexpectedly passed away. 

I could barely get out of bed or eat. Between dealing with a major loss and a loud, rude, couple who always yelled at each other I hardly had any motivation to take care of myself. So I adopted a dog. That encouraged me to get out of bed early and take him on long walks. I started eating more and taking better care of myself.

3 years have passed since then and I am still thankful to my little guy for giving me the strength to pull myself up when the world was crashing down on me. Sure he's not registered as an emotional support animal but that has been the role that he has served for me. While I do think a lot of people who have emotional support animals  (like a peacock!) are taking advantage of the system- that doesn't mean there aren't people who need them. 

You never know what's going in someone else's life or how much they have suffered so saying "suck it up" is unnessecary and unproductive.

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*Bogertophis* (05-18-2018),C.Marie (05-18-2018),Craiga 01453 (05-18-2018),das_nooblet (11-18-2018),dr del (05-18-2018),_GpBp_ (08-27-2018),_MissterDog_ (05-18-2018),_the_rotten1_ (05-19-2018)

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## tttaylorrr

> I have 2 daughters in the military with another daughter joining the military next month.


pain is not a competition of who can suffer more. all pain is relative.

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C.Marie (05-18-2018),_GpBp_ (08-27-2018),_MissterDog_ (05-18-2018)

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## Godzilla78

Define need.  There are people without clean water in the world.  An emotional support animal may be important to some people, but it is a LUXURY.

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C.Marie (05-18-2018),_Trisnake_ (05-19-2018),WNC (05-18-2018)

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## Alter-Echo

Don't need any emotional support animal? Good for you!

Need an emotional support animal? Fine by me, do whatever helps you get through this minefield called life.

That being said, critters in a a passenger compartment is just asking for a disaster, so having them ride in the cargo hold or something is probably the safest option.

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Craiga 01453 (05-19-2018)

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## Bogertophis

All this makes me miss the "good old days" when I flew home from overseas with 2 chipmunks in a small carry-on under my seat...and no, they 
weren't "emotional support" animals...I was theirs.   :Aww:   (and no, they weren't smuggled, I had permits etc)

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_Alter-Echo_ (05-19-2018),_richardhind1972_ (05-19-2018)

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## bcr229

> All this makes me miss the "good old days" when I flew home from overseas with 2 chipmunks in a small carry-on under my seat...and no, they weren't "emotional support" animals...I was theirs.    (and no, they weren't smuggled, I had permits etc)


You can still bring pets on the plane as long as you follow the pet rules for the airline.  I think the difference between having a pet versus an ESA in the cabin is the fees; passengers pay more for a pet.  Hence the $125 additional fee if your ESA becomes a problem during the flight.

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## Bogertophis

> You can still bring pets on the plane as long as you follow the pet rules for the airline.  I think the difference between having a pet versus an ESA in the cabin is the fees; passengers pay more for a pet.  Hence the $125 additional fee if your ESA becomes a problem during the flight.


Good luck finding an airline these days that will allow chipmunks carried on board; they were "encouraged" by higher powers to look the other way, even then.
Non-native chipmunks were not even ordinarily allowed in the country from overseas by any mode of transportation.  Anyway, that was "then" & I was lucky.

Chipmunks are very sensitive, they freak & hide from any sort of ride in motorized transportation, as I quickly discovered; I'm pretty sure a ride as cargo would 
have killed them, but as it was, they were fine.  They silently hid in the small carrier during the long flight, as I knew they would, & no passengers had a clue.

I'd never object to paying (or pre-paying) a fee in case my animal became a problem during a flight, assuming they refund it when nothing happens.  Only fair.

Back to one of the original question, I think the "no snakes on a plane" was less about snakes & more about the wide recognition of that silly movie title.
And by now, more than one snake has made headlines as questionable ESA's, so the headline was bound to happen.  That snakes are still rejected should 
surprise no one...more people fear them than even spiders.  We as knowledgeable keepers of snakes must do more to assure they are accepted as pets, not 
just on planes but in the places we rent, the parks we visit, the vets we take our pets to, and all the contacts we make.  We all need to work on educating 
those who still hate and fear them.

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_richardhind1972_ (05-19-2018),_Trisnake_ (05-19-2018)

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## Trisnake

I think this is a much needed setting of the ground rules. It was bound to happen and I’m glad there is finally some documented regulation other than “must not impede or threaten bodily harm to other passengers”. 

We all use our pets as emotional support. I don’t get why some people feel entitled to special privileges just because they slapped an ESA tag on their dog or cat or rooster or donkey or whatever. That animal does nothing outside the bounds of what a normal pet does— if it did it would be considered a service animal and not an ESA.

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_Godzilla78_ (05-21-2018)

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## SatInpw

re: no animals at all on the plane--some people have dogs that detect when they're about to have a seizure or a dangerous drop in blood pressure. Those animals absolutely save lives.

Having PTSD myself, I know that stuff can be hard but I don't think banning all animals of a certain type is helpful. And it seems (like with the banning of snubnose breeds as well) they're really playing into breed and animal stereotypes here. I think there should be rules in place, but outright banning animals? Nah.

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