厌倦了人们带着他们的情感支持宠物，餐厅贴出了禁止带宠物的告示

厌倦了人们带着他们的情感支持宠物，这家餐厅贴出了禁止带宠物的告示

Recently, one restaurant put up a sign, saying it doesn’t allow emotional support animals. It caused quite a stir online, with some people admiring the bold move and others saying it’s not something the restaurant has control over. However, there’s something we need to discuss before you choose whose side you’re on.

最近，一家餐馆挂起了一个牌子，上面写着不允许情感支持动物进入。这一大胆举动在网上引起了不小的轰动，一些人对这一大胆举动表示赞赏，另一些人则表示这不是这家餐厅所能控制的。不过，在你选择站在哪一边之前，有件事我们需要讨论一下。

First, let’s get something straight. An emotional support animal is not a service animal. The Americans with Disabilities Act defines service animals as dogs or small horses that are trained to perform specialized tasks, for example leading a blind person or detecting seizures. They must be allowed in restaurants, stores, and other public places. Emotional support animals, on the other hand, provide comfort with their presence but usually have no special training.

首先，让我们把事情弄清楚。情感支持动物不是服务动物。《美国残疾人法》将服务性动物定义为狗或小马，它们被训练来执行特定的任务，例如带领盲人或检测癫痫。它们必须被允许出现在餐馆、商店和其他公共场所。情感支持动物，另一方面，它们的存在是提供安慰的，但通常没有特殊的训练。

To promote a pet to the status of an “emotional support animal”, or ESA, all a person needs is a therapist’s letter asserting the animal contributes to their psychological wellbeing. There are for-profit websites, known among some psychologists as “ESA mills”, that will facilitate a quick and dubious disability appraisal by a clinician over the phone or via a web survey to those who do not have a therapist, too.

为了将宠物提升到“情感支持动物”(ESA)的地位，一个人需要的只是一封治疗师的信，声称宠物对他们的心理健康有贡献。有一些营利性网站，被一些心理学家称为“ESA mills”，可以帮助临床医生通过电话或网络调查，对那些没有治疗师的人进行快速而可疑的残疾评估。

And while ESAs aren’t legally allowed to venture everywhere in public with their owners (only service animals have that right), they do come with perks. Equipped with a therapist’s letter, its owner may move their pet into an animal-free apartment or dormitory, and fly with their pet in a plane’s cabin for free.

虽然法律不允许ESAs和它们的主人在公共场所冒险(只有服务性动物才有这个权利)，但它们确实有额外的福利。有了治疗师的推荐信，它的主人可以把他们的宠物搬到一个没有动物的公寓或宿舍，并免费和他们的宠物一起乘坐飞机。

Image credits: Ineedtherapy

Fortunately for those who wish to abuse the law, there is a lot of confusion surrounding these technicalities. Nothing can stop them from lying or using the terms “service animal” and “ESA” interchangeably. “The majority of folks who slap a vest on their pet have already crossed that line,” Ryan Honick, 33, whose service labrador, Pico, helps him with myriad daily tasks told The Guardian. “The easiest giveaway is behavior. A trained service animal is going to behave unobtrusively and professionally. If those things aren’t happening, odds are high the animal is fraudulent.”

幸运的是，对于那些希望滥用法律的人来说，围绕这些技术细节有很多困惑。没有什么能阻止他们撒谎，或者把“服务动物”和“ESA”互换使用。33岁的瑞安·霍尼克在接受《卫报》采访时表示:“大多数给宠物穿上背心的人都已经越过了那条线。”最简单的泄露就是行为。训练有素的服务动物会表现得低调而专业。如果这些事情没有发生，那么动物被欺骗的几率就很高。”

While no organization keeps track of the actual number of emotional support animals, a study from the University of California at Davis determined the number of ESAs registered by animal control facilities in the state increased 1,000% between 2002 and 2012.

加州大学戴维斯分校的一项研究发现，虽然没有组织会追踪情感支持动物的实际数量，但从2002年到2012年，加州动物管理机构登记的ESAs数量增加了1000%。

In the past, there have been numerous cases of people taking the whole ESA thing way too far

在过去，有很多人把ESA的事情做得太过了

Image credits: dexterthepeacock

According to The New York Times, some people who require Seeing Eye dogs have reported that their animals have been attacked in airports or restaurants by untrained emotional support dogs. The explosion in support animals has led to more skepticism of true service dogs as not all handlers can keep them under control.

据《纽约时报》报道，一些需要导盲犬的人报告说，他们的动物在机场或餐馆遭到未经训练的情绪支持犬的攻击。随着助养动物数量的激增，人们对真正的服务犬产生了更多的怀疑，因为并不是所有的饲养员都能把它们控制住。

Of course, not every ESA is a walking threat, but in 2018, Delta Air reported an 84% surge in animal incidents since 2016. Those include urination, defecation, and biting. There have also been media reports of emotional support peacocks starting pandemonium in airports, comfort hamsters getting flushed in a frenzy, and so on.

当然，并非每一个ESA都是步行威胁，但在2018年，达美航空报告称，自2016年以来，动物事件激增84%。包括排尿、排便和咬人。也有媒体报道，情感支持的孔雀在机场制造混乱，安慰仓鼠在疯狂中被冲得脸红，等等。

As a result, more than two dozen state legislatures have already enacted new laws to crack down on fraud. For example, Utah has just passed a law that makes it a misdemeanor to lie about a pet being an emotional support animal, and Oklahoma clarified that restaurants and stores have a right to keep ESAs out.

结果，超过24个州的立法机构已经颁布了打击欺诈的新法律。例如，犹他州刚刚通过了一项法律，规定谎称宠物是情感支持动物是一种轻罪，俄克拉何马州也明确表示，餐馆和商店有权将ESAs拒之门外。

So, coming back to the restaurant sign. Do you support the establishment?

所以，回到餐厅的标志。你支持这种做法吗?

Image credits: mark_essig