Pets on Planes: Are Emotional Support Animals Legit?

Science Vs

Spotify Studios

Science, Education, Health & Fitness

4.4 • 12.4K Ratings

🗓️ 4 April 2019

⏱️ 12 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Can petting Fluffy or Fido help with anxiety on planes? Or are emotional support animals a load of croc? We talk to psychologist Prof. Hal Herzog to find out if science has anything to say on whether these pets should fly high or be grounded. Check out the full transcript here: http://bit.ly/2MD2lPC Selected references: Hal’s critical review on whether pets can improve mental health Study showing that blankets worked just as well as dogs to reduce anxiety in childrenHere’s a good article describing the differences between emotional support animals and service animals A couple reviews on the evidence that animal-assisted therapy can help with psychiatric illnesses Credits: This episode was produced by Meryl Horn, with help from Wendy Zukerman, Rose Rimler, and Michelle Dang. Our senior producer is Kaitlyn Sawrey. We’re edited by Blythe Terrell. Fact checking by Diane Kelly and Michelle Dang. Mix and sound design by Peter Leonard. Music by Peter Leonard, Emma Munger and Bobby Lord. A huge thanks to all the researchers we got in touch with for this episode, including Molly Crossman, Dr. Karen Thodberg, Cassie Boness, Dr. Rob Young, and Dr. Helen Louise Brooks. Also thanks to the Zukerman Family, and Joseph Lavelle Wilson. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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1:27.2	Hi, I'm Wendy Zuckerman and you're listening to Science Versus from Gimlet. This is the show
1:34.2	that pits facts against furry friends on your flight. These days, it's starting to feel
1:44.8	like aeroplanes are going to the dogs. People with anxiety and depression are bringing their
1:52.2	pets on board because they say they need them for emotional support during flights, and it's
1:57.4	happening more and more often. American Airlines says that in 2017, they allowed more than
2:03.4	150,000 animals for emotional support to fly on their planes. That's 50,000 more animals
2:11.6	than the previous year. Meanwhile, the animals people are using for emotional support,
2:17.5	are getting quite unconventional. It's not just dog and cat. Owners are now getting emotional
2:24.2	support from a range of animals. Pig, monkey, turkey, duck, kangaroo, and now a peacock tried to take
	...

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