Why do pets have to go into cargo hold
 

It makes you think sometimes why pets must travel in cargo and then be put into quarantine for 6 months, when humans are not, when they also carry germs and all sorts of diseases i don't think its fair and if the pets have had all the jabs and are in good health why should they be treated this way...

Juls SA

Aside from "must travel" is wrong and "put into quarantine for 6 months" is wrong, your OP is reasonable

Actually, I have friends who just moved to England from the US, and their dogs WERE required to be put in quarantine for 6 months, alanRow.

Well either your friends did it several years ago or they didn't bother doing any research.

In any case what you originally said isn't true - not even in the UK

http://www.defra.gov.uk/wildlife-pet...info/other.htm

Depends the size of the animal and where you are going from and to. Some animals do ride in the cabin. Some places don't have quarantines.

<i>It makes you think sometimes why pets must travel in cargo</i>,

ever consider the fact that some people are allergic?

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/pet-allergy/DS00859

that said, there are many reasons for quarantines.

Also, if you want to transport your pet in comfort, domestically, look up....

http://petairways.com/

Pets must be the ones to go in the cargo hold because most people would object to having to be the ones to travel there.

siena1: That was the rule years ago in the UK (which is the reason I didn't take my cat and dog when I moved there for 5 years - they were adopted by my parents)

But in this day and age there was no reason for your friends to put their animals in quarantine. That is just plain cruel. If they had done ANY homework at all, they would have known the procedure. It does take planning, but nothing too difficult. Were they just too lazy to get the i's dotted and t's crossed??

julietancock: Pets CAN fly in the cabin on many airlines. But they have to be small enough to fit under the seat, and the number of animals allowed in a cabin is limited so even then they would sometimes have to go in the hold.

My friends just moved there in June with the Air Force.

<<Were they just too lazy to get the i's dotted and t's crossed??>>

Yeah, you know those lazy families serving their country. (That's sarcasm.) I have no idea whether or not they "did their homework." What I do know is that they were in a frantic rush to get things organized since they had no choice concerning when the move would take place. That's the way it is when you're serving your country.

I know all about serving in the military and being on orders (your friends aren't the only ones ya know)

When I went to the UK, quarantine was mandatory (6 months, and for a short time, a full year). I decided I was only considering taking my VERY loved pets for my benefit - not for their best interests. That is why I made the very difficult decision to leave them w/ family. And I am sooooo glad I did.

I suffered w/ friends I met along the way who had pets who were changed/damaged or even died in quarantine. One poor woman had a mini poodle and a beautiful Maine Coon cat. About 5 months after they arrived, quarantine was suddenly extended to 12 months. The cat never came out of quarantine. Whereas my pets lived out wonderful lives living w/ grandma/grandpa.

Not to mention the expense. The money wasn't ever a consideration tho'. Just an added issue.

BTW - Military families can do their homework like everyone else -

(When I returned to the States I had a cat and a Scotty I shipped back w/ me (no quarantine required). After that flight from LHR to SFO, I'll never fly pets again if I can EVER help it.)

To be fair, I should add - lots of pets did come through quarantine just fine.

But problems were not uncommon. Things like unlearning house training, getting aggressive or timid, injuries, and in a couple of instances I knew personally - death.

It is a real shame your friends took the quarantine route when it is really unnecessary nowadays . . . . .

janisj--I'm not going to argue with you. If you want to think my friends are terrible people, fine. It isn't my pet, and it wasn't my responsiblity to do the homework.

We're military too, I agree the military families can do their homework like everyone else. I just think there is a difference because most people don't pick up and move overseas with only two months notice.

My point WAS - If they didn't have time to do it right -- they should have left the pets w/ a loving family back home. Instead, they are subjecting their animals to both a hellacious flight(s) in cargo, and 6 months of quarantine. And all so unnecessary -

I'm a pit bull on this topic -- I've seen what can sometimes happen to poor animals when their humans make mistakes like this.

I emailed my friend about this yesterday and I got a response. Here's the deal. There are two choices:

1. quarantine in England
2. Pets stay home in the states for 6 months with family and see a govt approved vet for check-ups and extra vaccinations. Then pets are flown to England after 6 months if vet approves it.

They did in fact leave the dogs back home. However, the last time I talked to her about it was when she thought quarantine was mandatory.

So, I apologize for not getting my facts straight. But I don't think there was any need for name calling either. A simple, "I think you might be mistaken" would have been more appropriate than a snarky, "You're friends must be lazy."

But I'll admit it. I was wrong. Turns out my friends are indeed the nice people I knew them to be.

That's great -- I'm glad you were wrong.

But name calling? Huh? Where?

If you mean this "<i>Were they just too lazy to get the i's dotted and t's crossed??</i>" That was a <u>question</u>, not a statement. I don't know them from Adam - I was just trying to find out why they decided to take that course. Which now we know they didn't.

Or maybe "<i>That is just plain cruel.</i>" That was describing the situation - pets languishing in quarantine.

I called no one anything. I simply posted my experiences . . .

Yes, the first quote was the one I was referring to. Personally, that seemed like a loaded question. The equivalent in my mind of asking someone, "Are you stupid?" It just seemed to me that you were implying my friends were lazy. But whatever.

<I'm a pit bull on this topic>
Being a bit modest, one would think!

I have a friend who is in the miltary. He took his dog to the UK. It did not have to be in quarantine.........

So I guess "miltary" is not an automatic "excuse" for not knowing the rules.

However, dogs and cats etc... tend not to sit well in Human seats so... they have to go in Cargo. Sorry!

Airlines are designed to move PEOPLE wiht one exception. I understand you can fly Fido accross country on some pet airline now.... maybe they will go intenrational (or more likely they will go bankrupt!)

>>So I guess "miltary" is not an automatic "excuse" for not knowing the rules.>>

Exactly. As I said, my friends did their research and were correct. I, someone who doesn't own pets and has never been stationed overseas, was the one who was incorrect. And I corrected my earlier mistake. Just to be clear.