Delta Airlines no longer shipping English/French Bulldogs and other snub nose breeds

[bullmama]

Delta Airlines is no longer going to ship English Bulldogs- no matter the age, in the news today:

Of the 16 pets that died on Delta flights in 2010, six were bulldogs. The AJC in January reported on the sharp increase in animal incidents on Delta, noting that bulldogs are among those most affected by the challenges of flying.

Delta in February said it would no longer carry American, English and French bulldogs, based on its review of animal incidents last year.

Delta spokesman Anthony Black said the airline saw a pattern involving animals susceptible to respiratory problems. In some cases, those dogs died during flights where other dogs held in the same space arrived alive, he said.

Michael Markarian, chief operating officer of the Humane Society of the United States, called it a "sensible response" to problems among many many short-faced dogs and cats, including bulldogs, pugs and Persian cats. Such animals can have difficulty breathing, especially in cargo holds, he added.

"We're pleased that Delta is being attentive and responsive to the particular animal welfare concerns with bulldogs," Markarian said.

Other major carriers also have restrictions on carrying bulldogs and some other breeds, or simply do not carry pets in cargo holds at all. AirTran Airways and Southwest Airlines, for example, only accept pets that fit in under-seat carriers. American Airlines stopped carrying snub-nosed dogs and cats last November.

Maybe, just MAYBE, this will be a good start to stop brokers, puppy mills and importers! At least it will put a damper on their get rich quick schemes!!!!

 

[NikkiSchoolcraft]

Thats such great news!!!

 

[Mack-N-MatildasMommy]

That is awsome news!!! We drove 3 hours away to get Matilda.

 

[PukaMiniBulldogs]

Our 9 week old boy Tiki was shipped to us via Delta a week and a half ago. We did have a hard time getting him shipped since they wouldn't ship him to Little Rock so we had to drive to Tulsa.

So who else ships? As a breeeder this is very bad news. I guess we'll be making some road trips!

 

[RescueMe]

I am so happy about this news. We drove over 5 hours to get our babies..

 

[laurendoodler]

I'm glad about this!

I've never been a fan of shipping any living creature. It has to be terrifying for them.

I wouldn't want to fly anywhere and just stick Delilah in a cage away from me. She would be TERRIFIED. If I was going somewhere with the dog...looks like I'm driving!!

 

[BruceP]

I wonder if any of the airlines mentioned are international freight carriers tho.They are the ones that would have an impact on the imported puppy mill business.

 

[Alice Kable]

This is good news. The problem is they box the crates in with the luggage so darn tight the poor animals suffocate. Ruggles' dad died that way on his way home from a show. We have always driven to pick up our puppies.
Regarding overseas puppy mills--OMG--don't we have enough puppy mills here???

 

[Bella'sMom]

[MENTION=1034]BruceP[/MENTION], I thought the same thing. I am sure that those airlines will not bring them in via international flights, however, how many international companies will bring them in to the US still and w/o quarantine? Also what if they get here (to one of our major hubs) but then stuck due to airlines not shipping in the continental US?

I hope this will be the start to the end of shipping and importing of dogs, any breed. I know of many people that have flown themselves or driven to get a puppy, they are responsible owners.

 

[Mack-N-MatildasMommy]

Our 9 week old boy Tiki was shipped to us via Delta a week and a half ago. We did have a hard time getting him shipped since they wouldn't ship him to Little Rock so we had to drive to Tulsa.

So who else ships? As a breeeder this is very bad news. I guess we'll be making some road trips!

Let me check with Matildas breeder and find out. They shipped one of her litter mates all the way to Germany.

 

[dozersmama]

I have always had negative feelings towards shipping animals unattended anyway. It jsut doesn't seem safe , and I won't buy a puppy who's parents and living situation I can't see in person. I also know however that sometimes ,like in [MENTION=410]Telly03[/MENTION] situation, it's the only way to get a quality puppy. I often wonder though , don't breeders want to meet the puppy's parents in person?

 

[PukaMiniBulldogs]

I have always had negative feelings towards shipping animals unattended anyway. It jsut doesn't seem safe , and I won't buy a puppy who's parents and living situation I can't see in person. I also know however that sometimes ,like in @Telly03 situation, it's the only way to get a quality puppy. I often wonder though , don't breeders want to meet the puppy's parents in person?

Thats some great points you bring up. Yes sometimes it's just not possible to go get the pup or have it brought to you, which we have done before for the new owner.

And yes as breeder's we like to know where our babies are going, but when selling a pup in that situation you must ask many questions, not only to make sure that the new parent will be a good owner of your dog but also to make sure they will be a good EB owner as well.

 

[dozersmama]

@PukaMiniBulldogs since you are a breeder I have a few ? What exactly is a mini bulldog? Is it a hybrid or just selectively bred dogs to make them much smaller thant the typical breed standard? Also what is the health of minis like, do they have more issues than a standard eb? I have heard many different things about them and i'm just not really sure what is true. Can you obtain the same health certs for mini's as you can standards?

 

[sheshistory]

I am happy to hear that since Delta does not believe it can safely transport bulldogs, it will not fly them. That makes good sense and is likely a response to pressure from animal rights groups demanding numbers on how many dogs do not survive transport.

I would like to see airlines make an effort to provide all animals with safer flight options. There are various good reasons that, at some point, a bulldog or other animal will need to be flown somewhere. Shouldn't there be some options for pet owners (and breeders) to safely transport their animals?

I saw something on the news about an airline bought a few planes and stripped down their insides to specifically transport pets. Petairways sounds like it's on to something here!

 

[Rosiesmom]

Way to go! I think this is great news! I can't imagine buying a bulldog and saying "Just stick her on the next flight". Rosie is part of my family and I would NEVER consider having a puppy shipped to me. I wouldn't do that with my kids, why would I do that with my dog? I don't think driving several hours is an inconvenience when it comes to picking up a new "baby". I'd drive across the US to pick up my Rosie!