If [man] is not to stifle his human feelings, he must practise kindness towards animals, for he who is cruel to animals becomes hard also in his dealings with men. We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals. –Immanuel Kant
Since May 2005, the U.S. Department of Transportation (“DOT”) has required all U.S. airlines that operate scheduled passenger flights to file monthly reports on pets that died or were lost or injured during transport, pursuant to the requirements of section 710 of the 2000 Wendell H. Ford Aviation Investment and Reform Act for the 21st Century (as subsequently codified at Title 49, Section 41721 of the United States Code and Title 14, Section 234.13 of the Code of Federal Regulations).
The DOT publishes redacted versions of these reports on its website, but unfortunately they are not easy to find. This page provide links to those reports, organized by (1) the total number of reports filed by each carrier, (2) the reports filed at DOT on a month-by-month basis, and (3) the reports filed at DOT on a carrier-by-carrier basis. Please note that the data for each airline does not necessarily indicate the quality of service that it provides, because the number of animals transported by each airline varies widely. For example, Continental Airlines, which transports numerous pets, has emphasized that incident reports are filed for less than 0.05% of the pets that it transports. Further, Southwest Airlines until recently did not transport pets (in contrast to service animals, as required by law), and no reports have been filed by Southwest to date.
In addition, the DOT does not require reports to be filed for all incidents involving animals; the scope of the regulation is discussed in an FAQ that the DOT issued shortly after it adopted the reporting regulations. Notably, reports are not required to be filed for incidents involving animals:
- that are not kept as a pet in a family household in the U.S.;
- that are carried on all-cargo or unscheduled flights (however, reports are required to be filed for incidents involving animals that are carried as cargo, as opposed to as checked baggage, on a scheduled passenger flight); or
- that are carried on a flight operated by a foreign airline, even if the flight carries the code of a U.S. carrier (however, reports are required to be filed for incidents involving animals on a flight operated by a U.S. carrier between two foreign points, as well as on a flight operated by a U.S carrier that carries the code of a foreign carrier).
Further, in a letter to the author, DOT elaborated that it also interprets the reporting requirements not to apply to “escapes [which] last only a few minutes or a few hours.”
In October 2008, Senator Robert Menendez – who sponsored the underlying law – sent a letter to DOT, asking why it had interpreted the reporting requirements so narrrowly; in December 2008, DOT sent a response to Menendez, which purported to justify its narrow reading of the law. Subsequently, the U.S. Department of Agriculture – which, as described below, has additional regulations for the transportation of animals – sent its own response to Menendez.
For additional information about the DOT regulation, please visit my article “‘The Dog That Did Nothing’: The Curious Incident of DOT’s Animal Incident Reporting Requirements”.
Additionally, Title 49, Section 41721 also requires DOT to “work with air carriers to improve the training of employees with respect to the air transport of animals and the notification of passengers of the conditions under which the air transport of animals is conducted.” The Federal Aviation Administration (“FAA”) prepared a draft Advisory Circular to assist air carriers, but it was never finalized.
Carrier-By-Carrier Reports: May 2005 – April 2010 (PDF)
DOT publishes redacted reports approximately one month after the conclusion of the month to which they apply; for example, the reports for incidents in May 2005 were published in the edition of the Air Travel Consumer Report published at the start of July 2005. The data in the following file is organized by carrier and the date of the incidents, not the date of publication.
Carrier-By-Carrier Reports: May 2005-April 2010
U.S. Department of Agriculture Orders
Although DOT is responsible for publishing the monthly reports of deaths, injuries, and losses, federal standards for the transportation of animals also are set by the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (“APHIS”), a division of the U.S. Department of Agriculture These standards are based on the Animal Welfare Act (7 U.S.C. § 2131, et seq.; “AWA”).
APHIS has adopted regulations which generally require proper care for animals during transportation (including Title 9, Section 2.100 and Title 9, section 2.131 of the Code of federal Regulations). Further, APHIS has adopted specific regulations for the transportation of dogs and cats (Title 9, Section 3.13 – 3.19 of the Code of Federal Regulations); guinea pigs and hamsters (Title 9, Section 3.35 – 3.41 of the Code of Federal Regulations); rabbits (Title 9, Section 3.60 – 3.66 of the Code of Federal Regulations); nonhuman primates (Title 9, Section 3.86 – 3.92 of the Code of Federal Regulations); marine mammals (Title 9, Section 3.112 – 3.118 of the Code of Federal Regulations); and other animals (Title 9, Section 3.136 – 3.142 of the Code of Federal Regulations).
USDA has sanctioned various air carriers for violations of the Animal Welfare Act. Only one order appears to have been issued that concerned an incident which occurred after DOT’s reporting requirements entered into effect. (Additionally, not all of the earlier incidents necessarily would have been reportable even if the current DOT reporting requirements were in effect – i.e., shipments of animals by dealers.) A list of air carrier-related USDA orders since 1987 follows, with summaries of selected orders.
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