Delta Air Lines pit bull ban: UT animal behaviorist weighs in on controversial decision

Ryan Wilusz | Knoxville

Show Caption Hide Caption Delta bans 'pit bull type dogs' on flights Delta's new ban on "pit bull type dogs" on flight will take effect starting on July 10.

Delta Air Lines said last week that it will no longer allow "pit bull type" dogs to board planes as service or support animals due to safety concerns.

The new policy, which also limits comfort animals to one per passenger, will go into effect July 10. The changes come after multiple reports of biting and urination, according to a company statement.

Dr. Julia Albright, a board-certified veterinary behaviorist at the University of Tennessee, said the new policy unfairly targets pit bulls.

"There's even part of a racist component to it," Albright said. "You're labeling an entire breed when you're not looking at an individual. I say that carefully, but it reminds me of that. You're stereotyping."

The most recent incident involving a pit bull on a Delta flight happened two weeks ago when two employees were bitten by a dog traveling as a support animal.

The statement also referenced a June 2017 attack of a passenger by a 70-pound dog. The statement, however, did not specify whether the dog was a pit bull.

A statement from @ASPCA CEO Matt Bershadker about @Delta’s policy to ban pit bulls. pic.twitter.com/R42IA2wHKX — ASPCA (@ASPCA) June 21, 2018

An aggressive culture

The classic nature vs. nurture debate has no place when it comes to talking about pit bulls, Albright said.

"Behavior is always genetics and learning," she said. "You cannot separate those two things. Genetics is not just a breed. I have two children, and they could not be more different."

It's important to note, Albright said, that pit bulls are not their own breed. The name describes several breeds of dogs that share common characteristics people often associated with pit bulls.

Pit bull type dogs were raised for more than 100 years to be tough and aggressive, Albright said. The dog gets its name from "bull baiting," a blood sport than involves the dog attacking a tethered bull.

"They also were bred to fight other dogs," Albright said. "So that’s there. We do see quite a bit of dog-to-dog aggression in these guys."

Pit bulls bred to fight generally are good with people because handlers take extreme control of them, Albright said. However, over the past 10 years, experts have noticed more human-directed aggression in pit bulls, she said.

Albright also said aggression could partially be due to the "inner city and backyard culture" that surrounds the animals.

"But the more popular a breed gets, the more variation you get in a breed," she said.

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Raising them right

Although pit bulls have an aggressive history, Albright said they can make for great pets and family animals.

However, the dogs' early developmental stages are the most critical times for learned behavior, Albright said. This is important to understand with the increase in people adopting rescue animals.

"The pit bulls I see these days are all over the place," she said. "People need to know they might be adopting a project. But it's not that it's not worth it."

The longer an animal is in an aggressive environment, the more problems it may have down the road, Albright said.

But although pit bulls are being targeted in the Delta ban, Albright said she has treated all kinds of dogs, including golden retrievers, for aggression.

And because many types of dogs can be aggressive, Albright said a well-trained pit bull can make for a great support animal.

"I think they can make amazing pets and therefore be completely suitable to go on a plane," she said.

A good support animal has a multitude of benefits for people who truly need them, said Sarina Manifold, a licensed clinical social worker at UT's Vetinerinary Medical Center.

"They're just giving comfort, and just the simple presence of them might help," Manifold said. "There are people who absolutely benefit from having their animals around them. Maybe at night they get scared — they know their dog is there. ... It's just knowing you have another being in your apartment."

But when it comes to airplanes, Albright said it's too easy to abuse the system to get pets on a plane.

Regulations 'out of control'

Just because a person is bonded to a dog doesn't mean the dog is prepared to be close to strangers on a plane, said Albright, who recently sat next to a service animal during a flight.

"That dog is slammed up next to me, and that dog went through years of intensive training," she said. "You can't train me to love cockroaches. You're never going to get me to love a cockroach. It's an emotional problem, not a training problem."

Albright said she has seen dogs that appear terrified in airports. Still, their owners bring them on board using a system she described as "a farce."

Manifold said people are required to have a letter from a professional that states an emotional animal is needed. However, she said people often are able to get therapists to write such a letter without much evaluation.

"All sides of the argument would probably agree it's out of control," Albright said. "It cheapens how (truly important) emotional support dogs are."

Albright said she would like to see a regulatory body evaluate the process for certifying emotional support dogs before targeting a certain breed.

"I feel sorry for Delta," she said. "This is a nightmare. I think this was a poor choice. ... But I cannot blame Delta. This is out of control and people are getting bitten."

Albright said she also is concerned that Delta will not be able to properly identify pit bulls.

A 2015 study conducted by experts at multiple institutions, including the University of Florida, showed that identifying pit bulls is not so easy — even for professionals.

Out of 120 dogs, shelter staff workers identified 62 as a pit bull type. However, only 25 of those dogs were identified by DNA as pit bull types.

"(Delta is) going to have to explain this a little bit," Albright said. "This is stereotyping, unless they have data to back up (that pit bulls are more aggressive). And if they do, they need to show it."

Delta referred the News Sentinel to its general statement when asked about such data, how the airline plans to identify pit bulls and whether the June 2017 attack was carried out by a pit bull.