[AADFW]

Originally Posted by jimworcs

The behaviour of the animal is not really relevant for me, it is not a particularly important reason for banning them. However, what I cannot understand is why people feel the need to have them in the cabin. The hold is pressurised and kept warm when animals are in there.. so what is the objection?

Actually Jim, not all cargo holds are pressurized. In fact, according to the Airline Transportation Association itself at one point in the past decade, more than 5,000 animals were killed, injured, or lost on commercial flights each year due to their being treated like baggage, handled roughly, exposed to extremes of hot and cold, and/or subjected to poor ventilation and lack of oxygen.

In the month of September 2009 alone, there were four such deaths on board Northwest, Continental, and American according to the U.S. Department of Transportation. I realize that this number is low in comparison to the number of animals shipped, but it's presumably quite high compared to the number of animals that die being transported by their owners safely in the comfort of the cabin.

The bottom line is that your fears for safety in this particular instance are unfounded. If you can point out a single example in modern aviation history where an animal of any variety brought into the cabin hindered the emergency evacuation of an airplane, you'll have a much better case to bring to this forum. Otherwise, I see no reason why the practice can't safely continue.