A New York Times article details the ways in which the pandemic has made it harder to travel with pets.
A major factor is a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ruling preventing the import of dogs from more than 100 countries. The prohibition “applies to foreign dogs as well as those traveling with American owners and re-entering the country after a trip abroad,” according to the article. The stated goal is to prevent rabies, particularly after a rash of fake health documents from importers amid surging demand for pets.
Other factors making it more difficult to travel with pets, according to the Times:
- New rules limiting pet travel in aircraft cabin,
- Limited options for having pets travel as cargo.
- Spikes in flight cancellations and schedule shifts.
Additionally, traveling with an emotional support animal is harder than it used to be. Following a December ruling by the U.S. Department of Transportation stating that only trained dogs qualify as service animals, a number of airlines stopped allowing emotional support animals on boar.
Read more at The New York Times.