Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) and U.S. Senator John Kennedy (R-La.) introduced the Welfare of Our Furry Friends Act (WOOFF) today to explicitly prohibit airlines from putting animals in danger by placing them in overhead baggage compartments. This bill directs the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) to create regulations to prohibit the storing of a live animal in any overhead compartment of any flight in air transportation and establish civil fines for violations.
“Too many animals have died as a result of human neglect and carelessness,” said Cortez Masto. “The Welfare of Our Furry Friends (WOOFF) Act is designed to protect the well-being of our beloved family members—our pets—when traveling.”
“Pets are members of the family. Unfortunately, for our pets, they are at the mercy of human beings showing some common sense,” said Kennedy. “United Airlines is promising to put special tags on pet carriers to help flight attendants in the future. I’d rather make it the law that animals aren’t to be treated like an old piece of luggage.”