Emotional support comes in many forms including, apparently, a peacock.
A woman brought her massive emotional support peacock to the Newark airport and attempted to fly to LA with it, even going so far as to buy the bird a seat of its own. Airlines will allow emotional support animals to fly with their owners as long as they can fit comfortably in front of the passenger’s seat without obstructing the aisle.
The woman was told by United staff that she would not be able to fly with the bird.
“This animal did not meet guidelines for a number of reasons, including its weight and size. We explained this to the customers on three separate occasions before they arrived at the airport,” said United in a statement.
The reports have sparked outrage on both sides of the argument across the internet. Some people are calling it ‘peacock discrimination’ after reports of mini-horses and turkeys being allowed on planes. Others are very clearly on the other side, with one user stating “If you need an emotional support peacock, you should be in a mental hospital, not on an airplane”. Which we thought was pretty harsh. He’s just trying to get where he needs to go, and New York to California is a long way for a peacock to fly on his own. If peacocks do fly. They could just exist and look beautiful, much like our writers.
Whatever your opinion may be, the peacock ended up driving to California instead.
For more birds on planes, check out these Falcons flying first-class.