Can I sue an airline/port?

Basically, we moved countries in the last 2 days. We took 6 pets with us, of which the ground people were able to let 2 cats escape, by DROPPING the cargo case they where in because they placed the case on top of a too small cage...it was never going to work.

They are currently searching for them but I'm not really holding my heart...so to speak. Not a lot of faith in them.

1 of the cats was rescued and the other was hand reared by us.

 

These days you can sue anyone.

Hell you can break into someone's home, and sue the homeowner and win!

Although Europe may be different.

 

I hope you get them back

 

Look into it. I know some States have reclassified animals to allow owners to pursue damages in the event of wrongful injury or death. They were previously considered to be property which only allowed replacement value.

 

I'm so sorry to hear about your pets. What airline? Where did this happen?

 

It's africa actuallly...should really change my status but I'm only here temporarily so can't be bothered, lol.

so do I...they're really attached to the whole family so that only makes it worse.

Thanks I'm looking into it now.

It was on Kenya Air, which could make it a little difficult seeing everything happened in Africa...They dropped the cage in Rwanda, and on the flight from Kenya - Botswana they failed to secure another cage properly and one more cat escaped. Luckily, this one was in the plane itself and I managed to grab him...Just shows that not only are your suitcases unsafe during air transit but so are live animals. I was sort of surprised that the dogs arrived alive and well, seeing that 50% of the animals where allowed to escape.

EDIT:
[QUOTE = Kenya Airways]
9.11.4 Our acceptance for carriage of animals is subject to the condition that you assume full responsibility for the animals. Where carriage is not subject to the liability rules of the Convention, except in the case of our own negligence, we will not be liable for injury to, loss of, delay of, sickness of or death of the animal.[/QUOTE]

Unbelievable

Will keep this thread updated, we've offered 200USD per cat found, equivalent to 6 months salary over there...

 

The airline was negligent, so I don't see the issue.

 

You're correct...missed that thanks

 

Did the cage break upon being dropped, or did the door just open?

I know this doesn't help you, but for other people's reference, I like to bungee the doors shut so that even if there is a shock, they hold.

In addition, I put pieces of sponge or bubble wrap on each corner so that it is shock absorbent, and I duct tape steel cord or fairly strong plastic webbing around the cage as well...plastic may shatter, but the tape, steel cord, and bubble will hold it together.

If you do this, make sure you don't end up cutting off the ventilation.

 

I'm not 100% sure, I think a small linkage thing from the door broke but I'll have to check...the cage that fell is still in Rwanda at the moment in case they find the cats (but its been 6 days now ).

I was going to tape them up but ran out of tape and thought it would be fine (as the same cages held up fine during all other times we've moved, and the fact that they're approved by all sorts of things anyways).

 

hope you find your cats soon and safe!

I would like to check for your dogs when you travel ard 8 hours , do you make dogs sleep or are they awake the entire journey.

Thanks

 

when we flew from barcelona to Rwanda last year, (stopover in tel aviv and addis ababa) we had get the dogs ourselves from the 'heavy duty' baggage belts...our dogs where happy as ever and pretended nothing happened. In tel aviv, of all places, we where allowed to let the dogs have a walk outside and most of the people working there where extremely friendly to them, as if they where their own dogs!

On this flight everything was handled for us, because the stopover was so short, but because of a delay apparently they got something to drink at the airport....

when we picked them up from the cargo they where pretty happy.

Next time we fly we'll tape the boxes with some black tape and extra zipties.

We still haven't found the cats, we send a few of our friends over to check at the airport but no luck. Quite extraordinary, we've had NO reply whatsoever from kenya airways. We've given them until wednesday and if we still haven't heard from them we're attempting to sue.

My 4 year old brothers asked about the cats yesterday and started crying, so its not a nice situation at all.

 

somones gotta ask the question.... what type of cats were you taking out of africa?

 

You'd have to consider the jurisdictional venue and applicable laws. In the US, pets are arguably now an elevated class. They're not merely chattel any longer. There's a CA case of road rage where a driver grabbed another driver's dog out of her lap and tossed it into traffic. He received jail time (but I'm sure there was a charge of assault heaped on, and that may be the offense the defendant was sentenced for). Significant jail time, IIRC. You can try. You can certainly make a claim and see what happens. But, in the end, I don't think you'll get too far.

Years ago, when my family was moving back from the Left Coast, our German Shepherd escaped from his cage and was running up and down the baggage holds and corridors. You could hear the barking as he was moving from one end of the plane to the other. They came and got my Father who went down in the belly and got him calmed down and back in the cage. Anyway, they do get loose.

Sorry. Six days? Cats? Dude, they're NOT coming back. Just hope they're out living in the wild as Mother Nature intended.

CW

 

Normal house cats

Yeah that's what we're hoping as well...