I'm working for a major air freight company now (BAX Global) who ships a lot
of critters. To weigh in on thew argument, I thought I would give everyone
a description of what shipping animals by air freight means. These
procedures are reasonably standard - the FAA regulates how air freight can
go, so it should apply to USPS as well, mostly.
Cargo is stacked onto a big flat sheet (like a big cookie sheet) which
measures (I'm guesstimating here) 5x8 feet or so. It's stacked roughly six
feet high, usually. This is covered with plastic and a big cargo net, and
is rolled into a plane, on the main deck where the passengers would usually
go. The other way it can go is in the belly of the plane, where your
luggage would go. This is more than likely where your animals will end up.
It's stacked in the bellies (which have a curved floor, and hvave maybe 4-5
feet of headroom) and packed in as tight as it will go. Stuff slides around
in there while the plane flies, BTW.
If your animals are on the sheet, it shouldn't be too rough for them.
They're likely moved by hand or forklift around the building, since animals
aren't permitted on conveyor belts. The sheets can't mnove at all inside
the plane, so if the guy who builds the cargo stack isn't too much of a
doofus, they'll be OK.
Bellies are kinda rough sometimes. Since you can't stand up in them, the
packages are usually slid (or thrown) to one end of the belly, since
crawling around in those things is a pain. Live animals are USUALLY
accorded more respect, mostly because folks like critters. But they're
still gonna slide around in there. And crash about when the plane takes
off. So it's probably gonna be pretty traumatic for them.
Other dangers include your package breaking open (which doesn't happen
often, but has been known to), rough handling by someone who needs to be
fired, and, in one case, having your box run over by a forklift (it's real
hard to see driving one of those things, and it had fallen off of someone
elses lift and the operator didn't notice. It wasn't pretty.)
So shipping can be dangerous. Even for a company who ships a LOT of
animals. And it's probably traumatic. So be warned.
