Originally Posted by
Baze
Go to this link for all thin info you need about what is and isn't a service animal, what is and isn't an emotional support animal, what can and can't be asked about service animals and what can and can't be asked about ESA's. One big thing that you will notice is not allowed to ask for any documentation for true service animals, currently only dogs and miniature horses, and that can ask for documentation about ESA's.
https://adata.org/publication/service-animals-booklet
So your statement about new made up category with no documentation is not correct. You are required to have documentation for your ESA to call it an ESA.
More importantly, look at the DOT rules under the statute. Those rules permit air carriers to ask for a lot more documentation than the carriers now seek. Most particularly, the Rules permit carriers to require a letter from a mental health professional who has made a diagnosis of a DSM-recognized mental illness.
Why does that matter? Because not a whole lot of sane people really want a mental illness diagnosis which can affect them adversely in many other aspects of their lives (not everyone is Corporal Klinger).
If the carriers required what they are permitted to require, if the ESA thing is for real, at least it will be cut way back and the fraudsters will need to think up another scam.