Qantas Freight today announced plans to introduce additional precautions to help reduce the risks of carrying snub-nosed breeds including boxers, bull dogs and pugs.
These increasingly popular breeds are at significantly higher risk of health complications due to their short snouts and respiratory systems. These risks are compounded in warm weather.
The airline is working with the RSPCA and other animal experts to finalise the additional measures, which include:
- Requiring all snub-nosed animals to be cleared to fly by a registered vet immediately prior to travel;
- Strongly recommending customers to use registered animal shipping companies, who have vets based at major capital city airports;
- A longer term review of airport equipment to provide further tarmac protection for vulnerable breeds in extreme weather; and
- Reinforcing existing procedures designed to minimise the time animals are required to spend on the tarmac prior to being loaded.
These changes will not apply to non snub-nosed breeds, which will also not require a vet’s approval for travel.
As a further precaution, a temporary suspension will be placed on new freight bookings for snub-nosed breeds until these additional procedures are finalised. This is expected to take approximately two weeks.
The temporary suspension does not impact existing bookings, to avoid inconveniencing owners who have already started their travel, particularly during the holiday period.
Qantas Freight’s Chief Customer Officer Nick McGlynn said the airline wanted to balance the ability for owners to travel with their pets while ensuring animal welfare.
“We already have special procedures in place for these vulnerable breeds and the simple thing for us would have been to introduce a blanket ban. We know many owners love to take their pets with them when they travel, so we’re designing a way to help reduce the risks that are inherent with these particular breeds.
“These types of dogs are hugely popular but unfortunately they are high-risk flyers due to their respiratory system and breathing problems. The risk is even higher in hot conditions and this summer we’ve seen a tragic spike in deaths of snub-nose dogs in extreme weather.”
“Key among the changes we’re making is requiring sign-off from a vet before snub-nosed breeds can travel with Qantas, giving them the final say.”
RSPCA Australia’s Senior Scientific Officer, Dr Sarah Zito, welcomed the proposed changes from Qantas as a valuable step towards addressing the risks of transporting brachycephalic dogs by air.
“Brachycephalic or flat-faced breeds face particularly high risks from air transport especially during summer months. Their extreme features mean they often struggle to breathe and regulate their body temperature effectively, even in mild conditions, let alone at the hottest times of the year or on a plane,” Dr Zito said.
“We’re very pleased to see Qantas building upon their existing policies to acknowledge and work toward addressing these risks. We look forward to working with Qantas to review the conditions under which these breeds are transported, and would urge pet owners to consider all potential risk factors prior to flying their pets.”
The new requirements are addition to Qantas Freight’s existing recommendations of transporting snub-nosed breeds at temperatures below 20 degrees Celsius and our policy that allows owners to rebook their pet in the event of extreme weather.
More than 40,000 pets are flown across Qantas’ domestic network every year, including some 2,000 snub nosed dogs.
Qantas Freight takes its responsibility of transporting pets very seriously and follows industry best practice through IATA guidelines and working with animal welfare groups in Australia.