厭倦了人們帶著他們的情感支持寵物，餐廳貼出了禁止帶寵物的告示

厭倦了人們帶著他們的情感支持寵物，這家餐廳貼出了禁止帶寵物的告示

Recently, one restaurant put up a sign, saying it doesn’t allow emotional support animals. It caused quite a stir online, with some people admiring the bold move and others saying it’s not something the restaurant has control over. However, there’s something we need to discuss before you choose whose side you’re on.

最近，一家餐館掛起了一個牌子，上面寫著不允許情感支持動物進入。這一大膽舉動在網(wǎng)上引起了不小的轟動，一些人對這一大膽舉動表示贊賞，另一些人則表示這不是這家餐廳所能控制的。不過，在你選擇站在哪一邊之前，有件事我們需要討論一下。

First, let’s get something straight. An emotional support animal is not a service animal. The Americans with Disabilities Act defines service animals as dogs or small horses that are trained to perform specialized tasks, for example leading a blind person or detecting seizures. They must be allowed in restaurants, stores, and other public places. Emotional support animals, on the other hand, provide comfort with their presence but usually have no special training.

首先，讓我們把事情弄清楚。情感支持動物不是服務動物?！睹绹鴼埣踩朔ā穼⒎招詣游锒x為狗或小馬，它們被訓練來執(zhí)行特定的任務，例如帶領盲人或檢測癲癇。它們必須被允許出現(xiàn)在餐館、商店和其他公共場所。情感支持動物，另一方面，它們的存在是提供安慰的，但通常沒有特殊的訓練。

To promote a pet to the status of an “emotional support animal”, or ESA, all a person needs is a therapist’s letter asserting the animal contributes to their psychological wellbeing. There are for-profit websites, known among some psychologists as “ESA mills”, that will facilitate a quick and dubious disability appraisal by a clinician over the phone or via a web survey to those who do not have a therapist, too.

為了將寵物提升到“情感支持動物”(ESA)的地位，一個人需要的只是一封治療師的信，聲稱寵物對他們的心理健康有貢獻。有一些營利性網(wǎng)站，被一些心理學家稱為“ESA mills”，可以幫助臨床醫(yī)生通過電話或網(wǎng)絡調(diào)查，對那些沒有治療師的人進行快速而可疑的殘疾評估。

And while ESAs aren’t legally allowed to venture everywhere in public with their owners (only service animals have that right), they do come with perks. Equipped with a therapist’s letter, its owner may move their pet into an animal-free apartment or dormitory, and fly with their pet in a plane’s cabin for free.

雖然法律不允許ESAs和它們的主人在公共場所冒險(只有服務性動物才有這個權(quán)利)，但它們確實有額外的福利。有了治療師的推薦信，它的主人可以把他們的寵物搬到一個沒有動物的公寓或宿舍，并免費和他們的寵物一起乘坐飛機。

Image credits: Ineedtherapy

Fortunately for those who wish to abuse the law, there is a lot of confusion surrounding these technicalities. Nothing can stop them from lying or using the terms “service animal” and “ESA” interchangeably. “The majority of folks who slap a vest on their pet have already crossed that line,” Ryan Honick, 33, whose service labrador, Pico, helps him with myriad daily tasks told The Guardian. “The easiest giveaway is behavior. A trained service animal is going to behave unobtrusively and professionally. If those things aren’t happening, odds are high the animal is fraudulent.”

幸運的是，對于那些希望濫用法律的人來說，圍繞這些技術細節(jié)有很多困惑。沒有什么能阻止他們?nèi)鲋e，或者把“服務動物”和“ESA”互換使用。33歲的瑞安·霍尼克在接受《衛(wèi)報》采訪時表示:“大多數(shù)給寵物穿上背心的人都已經(jīng)越過了那條線。”最簡單的泄露就是行為。訓練有素的服務動物會表現(xiàn)得低調(diào)而專業(yè)。如果這些事情沒有發(fā)生，那么動物被欺騙的幾率就很高。”

While no organization keeps track of the actual number of emotional support animals, a study from the University of California at Davis determined the number of ESAs registered by animal control facilities in the state increased 1,000% between 2002 and 2012.

加州大學戴維斯分校的一項研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，雖然沒有組織會追蹤情感支持動物的實際數(shù)量，但從2002年到2012年，加州動物管理機構(gòu)登記的ESAs數(shù)量增加了1000%。

In the past, there have been numerous cases of people taking the whole ESA thing way too far

在過去，有很多人把ESA的事情做得太過了

Image credits: dexterthepeacock

According to The New York Times, some people who require Seeing Eye dogs have reported that their animals have been attacked in airports or restaurants by untrained emotional support dogs. The explosion in support animals has led to more skepticism of true service dogs as not all handlers can keep them under control.

據(jù)《紐約時報》報道，一些需要導盲犬的人報告說，他們的動物在機場或餐館遭到未經(jīng)訓練的情緒支持犬的攻擊。隨著助養(yǎng)動物數(shù)量的激增，人們對真正的服務犬產(chǎn)生了更多的懷疑，因為并不是所有的飼養(yǎng)員都能把它們控制住。

Of course, not every ESA is a walking threat, but in 2018, Delta Air reported an 84% surge in animal incidents since 2016. Those include urination, defecation, and biting. There have also been media reports of emotional support peacocks starting pandemonium in airports, comfort hamsters getting flushed in a frenzy, and so on.

當然，并非每一個ESA都是步行威脅，但在2018年，達美航空報告稱，自2016年以來，動物事件激增84%。包括排尿、排便和咬人。也有媒體報道，情感支持的孔雀在機場制造混亂，安慰倉鼠在瘋狂中被沖得臉紅，等等。

As a result, more than two dozen state legislatures have already enacted new laws to crack down on fraud. For example, Utah has just passed a law that makes it a misdemeanor to lie about a pet being an emotional support animal, and Oklahoma clarified that restaurants and stores have a right to keep ESAs out.

結(jié)果，超過24個州的立法機構(gòu)已經(jīng)頒布了打擊欺詐的新法律。例如，猶他州剛剛通過了一項法律，規(guī)定謊稱寵物是情感支持動物是一種輕罪，俄克拉何馬州也明確表示，餐館和商店有權(quán)將ESAs拒之門外。

So, coming back to the restaurant sign. Do you support the establishment?

所以，回到餐廳的標志。你支持這種做法嗎?

Image credits: mark_essig