Taking a pet everywhere for emotional support, from airplanes to everyday shopping, may be a fashionable phenomenon, but experts warn that animal welfare is at risk of being ignored.
The use of emotional support animals has exploded in recent years, with countless cases making headlines, from the peacock denied a seat on a United Airlines plane to the cat who was banned from Sainsbury’s.
However, experts say that focusing on human needs should not ignore the potential impact on the animals themselves.
“We have to be careful about our enthusiasm and not lose sight of what the animal may need,” said Dr. Elena Ratschen, an associate professor of health services research at the University of York, whose work has explored assisted interventions by animals.
“We have a duty to ensure that the benefit of the human-animal relationship is reciprocated in the best possible way.”
Emotional support animals are not trained to help their owners, as are assistance animals such as guide dogs, and in many countries – including the UK – they are not covered by the same laws that protect emotional support animals. assistance animals.
Instead, according to Professor Janet Hoy-Gerlach, from the University of Toledo, they are usually companion animals that help mitigate the impact of their owner’s physical or mental health thanks to the daily benefits provided by the interaction between humans and animals.
Several studies have suggested that pet ownership can provide health benefits through a variety of mechanisms, from companionship to promoting social interactions, exercise, and a sense of purpose. Some studies have also suggested that interactions with pets can produce positive effects, such as lowering blood pressure or increasing levels of oxytocin, a hormone associated with emotional bonds.
However, Ratschen commented that it was difficult to conduct large enough randomized controlled studies on emotional support animals themselves. “It’s incredibly difficult to do rigorous studies in this field,” he noted.
Research into the use of emotional support animals includes a pilot study by a team including Hoy-Gerlach that paired 11 participants with severe mental illness with a rescue dog or cat.
The results indicate that the participants experienced an improvement in their mental well-being, and that reductions in levels of anxiety, depression and loneliness were observed, however, the pilot study was small and lacked a control group.
One of Hoy-Gerlach’s main concerns is the welfare of animals, indicating that being away from home can put them in situations that cause them stress, a particular concern when it comes to non-domesticated animals.
“An emotional support animal is not trained to be in public,” he explained, adding that, by contrast, service animals, such as guide dogs, receive a great deal of training to help them cope.
Ratschen agreed with this observation. “If we say then that (emotional support) animals are allowed to travel on airplanes, or enter, for example, very crowded places where animals are not normally (are) accepted, yes, sure, you would think that this would most likely it will cause considerable stress,” Ratschen noted. “If you imagine the peacock on the plane, do you think the peacock enjoyed it? Probably not”.