Safety Concerns and String of Deaths in 2011 Prompt New Policy
For Immediate Release:
July 9, 2012
Contact:
Kaitlynn Kelly 202-483-7382
Atlanta — Delta Air Lines CEO Richard Anderson will soon be munching on some animal-shaped vegan cookies, compliments of PETA, which is praising the airline for deciding that it will no longer fly cats and dogs in the cargo holds of its Boeing 767 jetliners and will not accept the animals as checked baggage on those flights. This decision comes after several dogs died in Delta cargo holds in 2011. A plane's cargo hold often lacks adequate ventilation and climate control and can reach extreme temperatures quickly, especially when delays leave planes sitting on the tarmac in stifling summer heat. At other times, temperatures plunge, freezing animals in their cages. Carriers can also become damaged in transit, allowing cats and dogs to escape and become lost inside airplanes or on foreign runways, often never to be found. PETA cofounder and President Ingrid E. Newkirk sent Anderson a personal thank-you note today.
"Animals are not cargo—they are family—and Delta has taken an important step by acknowledging that," says Newkirk. "PETA calls on all airlines to ban all animals in the cargo holds of all airplanes as the only way to ensure their safety."
Cats and dogs often become terrified when they are caged and alone in strange surroundings and subjected to loud noises, strange sensations, and shifting altitudes. PETA recommends flying with cats and dogs only if they can be accommodated in the cabin with their guardians. PETA is asking Delta and other airlines to convert two rows of cabin seats into premium priced kennels in order to accommodate large dogs whose carriers can't fit under the seat.
Ingrid E. Newkirk's letter to Delta CEO Richard Anderson is available here. For more information, please visit PETA.org.
