Enormous emotional support peacock denied seat on flight, owner not pleased
When most people travel with animals, they travel with small lap dogs or perhaps particularly patient felines. But for one woman flying out of Newark Liberty International Airport, dogs and cats are so 2017.
This unidentified traveler brought her absolutely gigantic "emotional-support" peacock to the airport, claiming that the majestic bird had his own ticket for a United Airlines flight, according to a report from Fox News. Her request was denied.
Earlier this month, Delta announced it would impose tighter regulations on support animals, prompting other airlines, United Airlines included, to reexamine their own rules. But it wasn't those changes that prompted United Airlines to deny the peacock its seat.
"This animal did not meet guidelines for a number of reasons, including its weight and size," United Airlines told Fox News in a statement.
It is a reasonable denial, but the whole situation brings up some interesting questions. How was the peacock going to fit in its seat in the first place? When the woman purchased a ticket for her peacock, whose name was it under? And most importantly—where can I get an emotional support peacock?
Topics Animals
Petrana Radulovic was a web culture fellow here at Mashable. She enjoys exploring the growing intersection of story-telling and digital spaces, hanging out in book shops and art museums, and the tasteful meme. Follow her on Twitter at @pet_rana for #relatable content.
