Duke The Dog's Plane Death Shows How Climate Change Complicates Pet Ownership

Duke The Dog's Plane Death Shows How Climate Change Complicates Pet Ownership Shutterstock

This summer’s bushfires and heatwaves may have led you to wonder how climate change will shape our lives. But have you given any thought to how it might affect your pets?

The issue of climate change and pet ownership came to the fore in recent weeks after several dogs reportedly died during air transit in soaring temperatures. They included a boxer called Duke, who died in December after being left in a crate on the tarmac in near 40℃ heat during a flight delay.

Qantas and Virgin Australia subsequently announced an overhaul of how some breeds of dogs, cats and rabbits – those with physical features that restrict their airways – travel on their planes.

The new flight restrictions have their pros and cons. One the one hand, it’ll improve welfare for dogs who struggle on flights and put a spotlight on the issues snub-nosed dogs face. But also it can create complications for breeders, and for those transporting the breeds the restrictions affect.


 Get The Latest By Email

Weekly Magazine Daily Inspiration

Duke The Dog's Plane Death Shows How Climate Change Complicates Pet Ownership Duke the boxer died on a plane after being left on the tarmac on a nearly 40 degree day. Kay Newman/Facebook

Travel woes

The bushfire crisis has made us rethink the typical Australian holiday. And by extension, we should integrate our pets into our bushfire survival plans and reconsider whether to take them on holiday.

Snub-nosed dogs, with their short snouts and respiratory systems, mean they’re more prone to dying in flight. This risk is higher in warm weather, when the body must work harder to regulate temperature.

Both Qantas and Virgin Airlines have long had more stringent travel requirements for certain breeds, such as for snub-nosed dogs.

Among Qantas’s recent changes, a registered veterinarian must clear all snub-nosed animals to fly immediately before travelling. In making the announcement, Qantas said the extreme features of snub-nosed breeds mean they often struggle to breathe, even in mild conditions.

Qantas’s new precautions apply to snub-nosed breeds including boxers, bulldogs and pugs, which are becoming increasingly popular.

Virgin has banned snub-nosed dogs altogether, as well as some types of rabbits, from flying until further notice.

These calls, however, are somewhat arbitrary when it comes to which dog breeds to ban or apply restrictions to. There is no evidence-based threshold beyond which certain temperatures become untenable for dogs of a given head shape, or a given age or body weight.

Inbreeding risk

With 4.8 million pet dogs in Australia, the travel restrictions will not only affect dog owners, but dog breeders and rescue groups who fly puppies to their new homes across Australia.

We predict a sustained decline in demand for puppies of breeds the travel restrictions affect. This means breeds with a smaller population may fall victim to less interstate and international movement of gametes (reproductive cells), leading, in turn, to less genetic diversity and, sadly, more inbreeding.

One of us, Simone Blackman, breeds Tibetan spaniels, a snub-nosed breed that is subject to the new flight restrictions. These Tasmanian-bred puppies can now only be transported to mainland Australia by ferry, if a person accompanies them. Clearly, this is neither good for the puppies in question – because the trip by air is considerably shorter – nor practical for a hobby breeder. It also means there is less opportunity to garner genetic diversity from mainland Australia.

The carbon pawprint

As the climate warms, it will become more important to make sound ethical and financial decisions around pet ownership.

For example, those who seek to lighten their ecological footprint may need to consider the methane and nitrous oxide emissions, potent greenhouse gases that come from pet food production. The meat in dog food is highly processed and must be transported.

In fact, a 2017 US study found these gases from pet food release the equivalent of 64 million tons of carbon dioxide a year. That’s equivalent to the emissions produced from over a year of driving 13.6 million cars.

Owners can make low-carbon pet food decisions, sourcing locally made food. For example, buying from local markets or from producers such as the Pet Grocer whose mission is to produce dog food that’s healthy, sustainable and ethical.

Rising temperatures mean owners also need to think twice about leaving pets outside without shade, instead opting to leave pets indoors with air conditioning on.

Looking to the future

Of course, dogs exist in the same climate, and breathe the same bushfire smoke, as their owners. Under climate change, dogs (and people) with breathing issues will suffer the most, alongside those which are old and overweight.

Warmer weather also means less dog-walking in the heat of the day, which is not good for dogs or their owners.

Dog ownership brings immense joy for many Australians, but we must understand how climate change will complicate the way we keep and care for them. It’s clear the welfare of pets, humans and the planet are inextricably intertwined.The Conversation

About The Author

Simone Blackman, Lecturer in Commercial Law, University of Tasmania; Anne Fawcett, Lecturer, University of Sydney, and Paul McGreevy, Professor of Animal Behaviour and Animal Welfare Science, University of Sydney

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

books_impacts

AVAILABLE LANGUAGES

English Afrikaans Arabic Chinese (Simplified) Chinese (Traditional) Danish Dutch Filipino Finnish French German Greek Hebrew Hindi Hungarian Indonesian Italian Japanese Korean Malay Norwegian Persian Polish Portuguese Romanian Russian Spanish Swahili Swedish Thai Turkish Ukrainian Urdu Vietnamese

follow InnerSelf on

facebook icontwitter iconyoutube iconinstagram iconpintrest iconrss icon

 Get The Latest By Email

Weekly Magazine Daily Inspiration

Wednesday, 05 May 2021 08:15

While our immune system and antibiotics both do a great job of helping us fight life-threatening infections, the emergence of antibiotic resistance is quickly making it more difficult to cure...

Wednesday, 21 April 2021 07:23

Whether it’s your arthritic relative who knows rain is on the way when their knees ache or your lifelong pal who gets a headache when a storm is approaching, we all know somebody who claims they...

Tuesday, 27 April 2021 08:56

Peas, lentils, chickpeas, beans and peanuts: if it comes in a pod then chances are it’s a legume. These unassuming food crops have a special ability that makes them fairly unique in the plant...

Saturday, 03 April 2021 08:08

Coffee, green tea and other caffeinated drinks are a popular way to start the morning. Not only does it give many people a much-needed boost, but caffeine can also help when it comes to fitness.

Saturday, 01 May 2021 08:12

High-intensity interval training (HIIT) workouts have become popular in recent years for a number of reasons. They don’t require as much time as a regular workout (some can take as little as 10...

Thursday, 06 May 2021 00:51

Have you ever walked into an empty room and immediately sensed that the atmosphere was laced with tension? You may have had no idea what occurred there prior to your arrival, yet you somehow knew...

New Attitudes - New Possibilities

InnerSelf.comClimateImpactNews.com | InnerPower.net
MightyNatural.com | WholisticPolitics.com | InnerSelf Market
Copyright ©1985 - 2021 InnerSelf Publications. All Rights Reserved.