Dog Fight Looms Over Pet Trains Promise

[SkySoaringMagpie]

http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/dog-figh...0421-1dpxn.html

Transport minister Terry Mulder might have overturned a ban on dogs and cats travelling with their owners on regional trains — but that doesn't mean rail operator V/Line is going to do what he says.

In a statement posted on its website this morning, V/Line said that: "Despite a State Government announcement on Wednesday 20 April, pets are NOT allowed on V/Line trains until further notice...

"V/Line is working with staff and government to resolve concerns around the carriage of animals and until all risks are assessed, pets will not be allowed on V/Line services."

Contacted this morning for a comment on why the minister's order had been ignored, Mr Mulder's press officer said she could not yet discuss the matter.

Mr Mulder yesterday heralded his decision as "a great announcement for pets".

But the Opposition, which in 2008 changed the rules to forbid passengers travelling with animals to board regional train services, said it was a sign Mr Mulder was not in control of the rail network.

"What a wally," Opposition public transport spokeswoman Fiona Richardson said. "Could he not even be bothered to ring the rail authority that he was about to launch this initiative with?"

Mr Mulder yesterday appeared at a launch at Southern Cross Station, accompanied by three-year old terrier Mishka, to make the pet announcement.

"If you are going to launch an initiative that allows you to give a nice cuddle with a poodle for a photo opportunity, then you'd better be sure you ring the authority concerned to check it's okay with them first," Ms Richardson said.

It is unclear how long it will take V/Line to come up with a final decision on whether pets can be carried on its trains. Passengers wanting to check can call V/Line on 136 196.

Guide dogs, hearing guide dogs and training guide dogs can still travel on all public transport services in Victoria without restriction.

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/dog-figh...l#ixzz1K9WWiP1D

[Isabel964]

Sounds like Mr Mulder did not do his homework or engage his brain properly. But I have to wonder when we will catch up with some other countries. I mean in America they can fly with their pets with them....at least the little ones. I don't know how it works, but we seem a bit backwards here. We don't even have proper processes to look after the pets that fly in cargo - they die sometimes due to neglect, heat and who knows what other trauma some of our pets go through that they can't tell us about when we entrust them to an airline. We have to fight for more rights for our pets.

[Staranais]

We can't take pets on trains here in NZ either, and I think that's wrong - if you have a dog, you're pretty much forced to purchase a car if you want to access dog parks, veterinary services, etc.

You can sometimes take small dogs & cats in a taxi, but not usually medium or large dogs.

I can see that the train would require pets to be either in a box, or muzzled and leashed, and to charge them a ticket fee, and I think that's all fair enough. But I don't agree with denying people carriage of pets entirely.

[Steve]

So are they able to qualify it and stop some dogs from being allowed on trains or will they tell us they have to be in crates etc.

Maybe they will have pet free carriages.

I can just see my brother in law who rides to work every day being happy about dog hair on his suit or matiff slober

[Nekhbet]

I dont see why dogs can't be in crates on v/line trains. Yes I know they're not really set up for having animals on there and cleaning times are not provisioned for travelling with animals. But I dont see why introducing that all v/line pets go into a proper contained unit of some sort as long as you ring ahead and book would be an issue.

[RuralPug]

The issue of causing discomfort to other passengers is the biggie.

There are too many people who think their dogs are well-behaved when they are not, and there are some that just don't care - would you really want to share a carriage with bogans flaunting a badly-reared fear aggressive dog on a three hour trip?

Years ago, you could travel any dog as crated cargo in the guard's van. Today's regional trains simply are not designed to have any supervised cargo space. Even if you brought your own crate and parked it in the space reserved for bikes and surfboards, what on earth would you do with it at the end of your journey? Lug it about with you? I can't see an enormous demand for that, can you?

I cannot see those issues being resolved any time soon. The minister has proved himself to be a total prat.

[Boronia]

Dogs are allowed on the BITS ferries http://www.transitsystems.com.au/display/4...nd-registration (scroll to near the bottom of the page), they now have to wear muzzles as the bogans were not controlling their dogs who were fighting on the ferries...having to put a muzzle on your dog is a small price to pay for BITS allowing them onboard free of charge i reckon.

[sumosmum]

In Victoria dogs are allowed on Metlink trains. These are the trains around Melbourne and suburbs. The VLine trains are the country trains.

They need to be muzzled on Metlink trains, but I don't think that is really policed, because every time I have seen dogs on trains, they never seem to be wearing a muzzle.

Metlink Dogs on Trains

ETA Spelling

Edited April 22, 2011 by sumosmum

[Keira&Phoenix]

I agree dogs/cats/reasonable sized pets should be allowed on trains so long as they are crated, caged or muzzled/leashed. I can't see the problem with it. In saying that I also understand that in peak hour services it would be very frustrating to try to get dogs in/out of the train and for other passengers who do not want to have doggy fur on their nice work clothes. I guess some restrictions would have to put into place ie: not travelling with pets during peak hour services.

What a wally Mr Muldar is.