The Department of Justice has withdrawn its proposed ADA regulations that would have banned the use of assistance monkeys, birds, miniature horses, etc.  This was in response to a memo from Obama's Chief of Staff directing all agencies to hold off on any new regulations until they could be reviewed and approved by Obama's administration.  So for now, the ADA definition of service animal remains as it has been since it's original creation, which means it still includes all species of animals.  One commenter here pointed out that for those concerned about this issue, now would be a good time to express your thoughts to your government.  Details after the jump on how to do that ...Â
Those interested can contact their government representatives and senators. Also -- perhaps most importantly -- they can contact the Department of Justice. (For those who've asked: The relevant way to reference this issue is by saying you're contacting them about the DOJ's pending ADA regulations that would ban the use of any species other than dogs as service animals. The exact regulation in question is "Title III Regulation 28 CFR Part 36: Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Disability by Public Accommodations and in Commercial Facilities."
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Good for Obama - I did get the feeling the jerks behind this were trying to sneak it past.
What was the rationale for that regulation against non-canine animal assistance in the first place? Did they think that monkeys and birds represented a security risk or something?
the main person behind this change to allowing only dogs as service animals was started by a man in texas who trains service dogs. conflict of interest much? while texas is my home state, i was appalled at the arrogance and ignorance of the man behind the law changes.
a blind person can use a mini horse for 30 years... while they would have to have multiple dogs in the same amount of time.
i have 2 service dogs who are amazing. but i would consider any animal who could perform the same tasks and alert me to my health issues. (medical alert dogs)
There are actually more then just one person behind this all. Besides a big organization ADI you have those Animal Rights groups that would prefer that nobody have service dogs let alone service animals. But this is the best time to write and be specific to the service animal movement so we do not go backwards in time. One of the reasons behind these proposals being stopped to look into them making sure our civil rights are not being violated because of some organizations or individuals that don't know beans.
That is wonderful news, Sklooty! Let's hope they do the right thing going forward.