Although the Saipan Humane Society and the Boonie Babies work to arrange charter flights and fly pets off island to adopters, these involve costly processes.
ARIA Keilbach, co-founder of the Boonie Babies, said animal welfare activists will stage a protest on Wednesday, May 22, to urge United Airlines to reinstate pet shipping services for the CNMI.
The protest will occur at 8 a.m. at the Francisco C. Ada/Saipan International Airport near the departure area. Questions can be directed to Islandrescue@booniebabiessaipan.com/.
“Our efforts are aimed to get the attention of United as a corporation, as well as raise awareness and encourage United to reinstate Petsafe Travel, the service that makes it possible for passengers to transport their animals off-island with them,” Keilbach told Variety on Monday, May 20.
Keilbach said people who want to support the protest are encouraged to bring their “presence and voice” to the gathering as well as posters and signs. She said a petition is also being circulated online supporting the calls to action. It can be found at https://chng.it/fT7Tb26zsf
“As the community knows, our island is overpopulated by stray dogs,” Keilbach said. “This is an issue that is hugely exacerbated by families forced to leave their pets behind when moving off-island…. United has ignored our pleas for years now, as well as the pressure to fix other issues affecting the people of Saipan and Guam. The community is encouraged to come show their support for this cause, as well as to show United that issues in the CNMI are important and should be viewed as such,” she added.
The lack of pet shipping services is also an issue for Saipan Humane Society, a separate animal organization. Its board president, Lauren Cabrera, is also urging United Airlines to provide regular pet shipping services for the CNMI.
On May 18, she aired numerous grievances on a United Airlines Facebook post, which stated that the airline was taking part in training puppies to become service animals.
“I’ve had years of meetings and discussions with your leadership, still you will not reopen pet shipping for Guam and Saipan,” Cabrera wrote. “You are our ONLY domestic airline. Your restrictive policies are causing the unnecessary abandonment and euthanasia of so many dogs. Yet here you are using puppies for likes. I am SPEECHLESS.”
Cabrera said if pets on Saipan are not abandoned, they are left at the Saipan Dog Control Program because pets are not allowed as cargo on United Airlines flights. If not adopted, these animals are euthanized, Cabrera said.
The Boonie Flight Project, an SHS partner organization, works with a pet shipping company to organize charter flights that bring dogs and cats from Saipan to new adopting families in the states.
Cabrera said these pet-shipping services are costly.
