U.S. airlines may stop flying pets if rule imposed = = = = Sunday January 26, 11:07 AM EST = By John Crawley WASHINGTON, Jan 24 (Reuters) - Many big airlines may stop carrying pets o= ver the United States if the government makes them report figures on how = many animals they lose and how many die or are injured on their planes, a= n industry group says. Carriers say they fly millions of animals each year for a fee and endorse= government efforts to make animal transport safer. The rule was ordered = by Congress and proposed last fall by the Federal Aviation Administration= =2E But airlines oppose the plan to make them inspect such cargo more closely= and submit detailed monthly reports to the Transportation Department on = any incident that leads to loss, injury or death of a pet or an animal to= be sold as a pet. Some animal protection groups argue that reporting standards are needed t= o at least give consumers access to information about an airline's record= for handling animals. = There are currently no industry figures for pet deaths or injuries, and t= he airlines dispute widely circulated claims that roughly 5,000 animals d= ie in their custody each year. The biggest airlines, through their lobbying group, the Air Transport Ass= ociation, say the rule would be logistically difficult and cost prohibiti= ve. Delta Air Lines (DAL) said the inspections could cost more than $1 mi= llion annually. "Many airlines are struggling for their financial survival and would have= no choice but to forego carrying pets in an effort to maximize revenue w= hile reducing the cost of burdensome federal regulations," Michael Wascom= , the group's spokesman, said. CARRY-ON BAGGAGE Some airlines crate cats, small dogs and some birds and permit them to tr= avel in the passenger cabin. They count as carry-on baggage. Larger domes= tic pets and other creatures are transported in cargo containers in the b= elly of the aircraft. Airlines do not object to reporting a dog or cat death. They say those ar= e rare. But they do not want to account for the well-being of every anima= l. "Should we also be expected to open up every box of pet boa constrictors = to see if they're all alive? It's a physical impossibility," Wascom said.= Delta said it called an expert from a zoo last year to open a container o= f venomous snakes. "No matter how well trained, airline employees are not veterinarians with= the necessary expertise to fully protect themselves from the danger of h= andling cold-blooded animals," Delta has told the Transportation Departme= nt. The carrier and other airlines defend their record for transporting anima= ls, and have offered alternative language to modify the proposal. But animal protection and other groups, like the Humane Society of the Un= ited States, argue for reporting standards. "Either animal suffering during air travel is the rare exception to the r= ule, in which case reporting it will pose a negligible burden. Or it goes= on all the time, in which case it may be something of a hassle for airli= nes to have to report but all the more necessary from the public's perspe= ctive," the Humane Society told the Transportation Department. But the American Kennel Club, the purebred dog registry, said current pra= ctices are adequate. = =A92003 Reuters Limited. = Roger EWROPS