On June 25, a Chinese celebrity posted on Weibo, “My dog Melody went through a series of checks and vaccination-related procedures to board the plane, and I went to the airport early today to wait for customs clearance and greet him, but when the customs clearance officer received him, he found that the dog had already lost his breath.” She also wrote, “I can’t contact Thai Airways, and the local airlines are blaming each other, but all we see is the dog being transported in high temperatures with the cargo. No one can give me an accurate answer, and the dog cannot come out for further examination!”
On June 26, Thai Airways responded on Weibo, “We have noticed the concerns and questions from some netizens regarding the dog consignment incident on the Bangkok-Shanghai cargo flight on June 24. Please believe that we always treasure and cherish every cute little life like everyone else. Our cargo department is conducting a full investigation into the incident and every aspect of the transport, and will provide the owner with the results of the investigation as soon as possible and handle the related matters in accordance with the regulations. The following are some of the incidents that have occurred in recent years.”
In recent years, there have been a number of incidents of pets dying after being shipped by airlines, many of which have led to discussions among netizens. The airlines do not carry pets, and some do, but they do not take responsibility for illnesses, injuries and deaths of small animals, except for the reasons of the airline company.
Editor’s note:
In fact, pet travel is not a problem, only the most basic water, oxygen and temperature can be met to safely transport pets to their destinations.
The current air transport of pets is basically a “seller’s” market, i.e. the airline makes and explains the rules of transport, and the consumer can only accept them, generally requiring a signature that “the passenger assumes full responsibility for the small animal being shipped. The airline is not responsible for injuries, illnesses, escapes or deaths of small animals under normal conditions of transport”. In the event of a pet’s illness or death, the pet will be treated as ordinary baggage under the relevant laws and only the relevant provisions of ordinary baggage compensation will apply, with a limit of RMB 100 per kilogram. This is unacceptable to consumers who consider their pets as family members.
There is no difference between high and low life, and for many families, pets are family members and an inseparable part of their emotions. The reason why such things always happen is that many people are not really aware of the value of their pets’ lives and do not have a strong “proof” to affirm this value. If we could have a law for pet transportation, people’s concern and attitude towards pets would be different than today. If we want to change the status quo of pets and protect their rights, it is not positive to rely on the automatic progress of civilization alone, only to implement the legislation can we really restrain people’s behavior and raise people’s concern, then we will get the fundamental improvement.