Britain's ugliest dog, Peggy the pugese, is backing a petition to permit small pets to travel in the cabin on flights entering the UK. Peggy, who starred in the Marvel superhero film Deadpool & Wolverine after being crowned Britain's ugliest dog in 2023, has traveled extensively with owner Holly Middleton.
Owner Highlights Inconsistent Rules
Holly Middleton, based in Hull, told The Independent: "The government has a restriction in the UK, which means pets are allowed to fly out of the UK in the cabin of a plane, but they're not allowed to enter. Instead of being able to just enter the UK with a pet in the cabin, we have to find alternative routes when we're traveling back from either Europe or Canada or America."
According to Middleton, "we can travel out of Edinburgh, with Air Canada directly over to Canada, but we can't book a return trip." She added that the "inconsistent" rules can cause "a bit of a headache" while traveling.
Alternative Routes Required
After a recent weekend in Paris, Peggy and her family were forced to take the Eurostar from France to Amsterdam, then board a ferry to Hull. The petition, which has garnered over 13,000 signatures, asks carriers to offer an "in-cabin travel option for small, fully documented pets on flights entering the UK."
According to the petition, several EU countries allow vaccinated and microchipped pets to travel safely in the cabin. Most commercial airlines in the UK do not permit pets in the cabin, except for service dogs.
Government Advice and Petition Goals
Government travel advice states that pets must travel as cargo unless "you're flying on a chartered private plane or you're traveling with a guide or assistance dog." Middleton noted: "The things are in place if I'm paying privately, but not commercially. It's just not consistent across the board."
The petition needs over 100,000 signatures by 2 August for a government response. Petition creator Eirini Zartaloudi said: "I believe allowing an in-cabin option would improve welfare and align the UK more closely with widely used global practices while maintaining biosecurity."
A spokesperson for the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) told BBC News: "The Government takes the importation of pets seriously and is committed to preserving our high animal welfare and biosecurity standards."
