美国国家公共电台 NPR Federal Government May Tighten Restrictions On Service Animal

 

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

The federal government is considering tightening¹ restrictions² for certain animals in airline cabins during flights. As NPR's Merrit Kennedy reports, the proposed changes would mean that emotional support animals lose special privileges.

MERRIT KENNEDY, BYLINE³: If you've been on a plane recently, you might have noticed that there seemed to be a lot more animals in the cabin. And according to the Department of Transportation, there are also a lot more complaints about them from passengers. Taylor Garland, a spokesperson for the Association of Flight Attendants, says the union's members have seen an exponential increase in emotional support animals in the last five years. The union believes people who don't actually need their animal for emotional support to travel sometimes abuse the system.

TAYLOR GARLAND: And what it's caused is a number of safety, health and security issues onboard our aircraft, which have led to minor⁴ things, like animals loose in the cabin, to very serious safety issues where untrained animals have attacked flight attendants or other passengers or other legitimate⁵ service dogs.

KENNEDY: So the union representing flight attendants is applauding the changes. Here's what the Department of Transportation is actually proposing. It would treat service animals helping⁶ people with psychiatric disabilities the same as service animals for other kinds of disabilities. Here's Jennifer Mathis from The Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law.

JENNIFER MATHIS: You know, if you use a service animal, service animal should be treated the same whatever type of disability you have. And that's good.

KENNEDY: But she finds other aspects of the proposal troubling. She thinks the way it defines service animal is too narrow. It must be a dog individually trained to perform tasks for a person with a disability. But Mathis says animals can help people with real disabilities in a real and important way.

MATHIS: Even though it's not specifically trained to do a task.

KENNEDY: The changes would no longer classify emotional support animals as service animals. They'd be considered pets. The proposal would also allow airlines to require a wide range of new paperwork for service animals, like certifying⁷ that the animal is in good health and has good behavior and training. Passengers would also need to fill out a form saying the animal can avoid relieving itself during the flight or do so in a way that is sanitary⁸.

Mathis says it could be too hard for people to get on a plane with their service animal if they have to submit all the rigorous forms.

MATHIS: While they may seem reasonable on their face, I think that, you know, the cumulative⁹ effect of making people attest¹⁰ to all these things is likely to scare some people off.

KENNEDY: People who may really need an animal's services. The public now has two months to comment on the proposal. Merrit Kennedy, NPR News.

(SOUNDBITE OF LONG ARM'S "ROOTS")

1 tightening   

上紧，固定，紧密

参考例句：

• Make sure the washer is firmly seated before tightening the pipe. 旋紧水管之前，检查一下洗衣机是否已牢牢地固定在底座上了。
• It needs tightening up a little. 它还需要再收紧些。

2 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 minor   

adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修

参考例句：

• The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
• I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。

5 legitimate   

adj.合法的，合理的，合乎逻辑的；v.使合法

参考例句：

• Sickness is a legitimate reason for asking for leave.生病是请假的一个正当的理由。
• That's a perfectly legitimate fear.怀有这种恐惧完全在情理之中。

6 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

7 certifying   

（尤指书面）证明( certify的现在分词 )； 发证书给…； 证明（某人）患有精神病； 颁发（或授予）专业合格证书

参考例句：

• Signed Commercial in quintuplicate, certifying merchandise to be of Chinese origin. 签署商业发票一式五份，证明产品的原产地为中国。
• Other documents certifying the truthfulness of the contents of the advertisements. （三）确认广告内容真实性的其他证明文件。

8 sanitary   

adj.卫生方面的，卫生的，清洁的，卫生的

参考例句：

• It's not sanitary to let flies come near food.让苍蝇接近食物是不卫生的。
• The sanitary conditions in this restaurant are abominable.这家饭馆的卫生状况糟透了。

9 cumulative   

adj.累积的，渐增的

参考例句：

• This drug has a cumulative effect.这种药有渐增的效力。
• The benefits from eating fish are cumulative.吃鱼的好处要长期才能显现。

10 attest   

vt.证明，证实；表明

参考例句：

• I can attest to the absolute truth of his statement. 我可以证实他的话是千真万确的。
• These ruins sufficiently attest the former grandeur of the place. 这些遗迹充分证明此处昔日的宏伟。