Bongo Fury

The petition speaks for itself.

http://www.change.org/en-GB/petitions/d ... e_petition

Done!

Disgracefull and totally unaceptable. I have often wondered about pets who fly in the hold of airliners. KLM do this with all pets even horses?

Hi
Abso-blinking disgusting...I use the chunnel for that very reason...Incidentally, many of the Greek ferries allow dogs in cabins on the ferries, and there is a dog-walking area on deck, and a proper "tiddle-pole" in a sand-box...Dog families take an outside cabin so the dog isn't traipsed through the ship.
For a so-called pet-loving nation, it's rather a shame that others need to set us an example!
I've signed the petition, but it won't change their minds....In fact, when we went on the Greek ferry, I was highly ....no....VERY highly impressed with the crew...as we had a couple of large dogs, and armfuls of gubbins, a crew member rushed over, grabbed a dog lead and took one of them up off the car deck.....and when I reversed the caravan and Bongo into the bow of the ship, a deck hand stood in front, and gesticulated so fast with instructions, VERY clearly and in moments guided me into a space so B****Y small I had to stare to see how he did it!....shame the channel ferries need to learn a trick or two!!!!!
Cheers
Helen

I wonder if there isn't something missing here I've never known a car deck to get very hot, especially as there is never any sunshine in them, and they contain a hell of a lot of air - even if they are unventilated, they are very unlikely to be airtight, with all the fans used to remove car exhaust fumes. It sounds like there were at least 2 dogs in the car and no mention of if the car windows were left partly open
As you say Helen, take dogs through the tunnel where they can only foul your own car

Signed the petition. I use Brittany Ferries and this has been an accident waiting to happen for years. Not only is it boiling hot on the car decks, but there is also a high level of exhaust fumes. The atmosphere in the summer is like a gas chamber, specially on busy sailings with the half deck in use. The dog could easily been asphyxiated by the carbon monoxide levels. I have seen so many frantic dogs peering out of car, caravan and motor home windows where they have been just left in frightening conditions.

Last time I used the Portsmouth St Malo route it was a boiling hot July, like this one. Despite being in the Bongo we were put on the half deck. This is a metal floor which when loaded is winched up to the roof of the main car deck, where it stays with an inch or two of ceiling clearance throughout the voyage. A second fleet of large vehicles is then loaded underneath, exhaust fumes rising throughout the loading. We were mercifully out of the vehicle before this, but on return to Portsmouth had to rejoin before the lowering. The heat in the Bongo was appalling, melted chocolate, boiled Coca Cola cans and the level of fumes chocking. Many engines were started to put air conditioning on before the hold doors opened and the fans turned on. This is probably the worst it gets but the impact on any dog in the vehicle could have been very likely fatal.

I am not allowed to use Euro Tunnel as I have a LPG conversion. So its ferries or stay at home.

Hi
Mary...
How unlucky that you can't use the chunnel. I sometimes wonder how they differentiate between a bottle of gas in the cooker compartment, and one slung under the car...In theory, you could run the car off the butane container for the cooker, and just turn it off, couldn't you???? That way you can just show them the gas in the van ...Daft, really, as we had 2 large propane bottles in the front of the caravan when we left the UK...All the inspector did was to take a peek before we loaded on the train!....just to see they were switched off!
Cheers
Helen

Apologize for my ignorance... But what's the problem here? (apart from the poor owner losing his friend, of course.) Isn't keeping two opposite windows a bit open, which could be reminded by ferry companies, wouldn't resolve the dilemma to great satisfaction of both happy ferry carriers and happy dog owners? Just enough opened to have good air flow across the car and not enough to poke a thievvy hand (if anyone at all is brave enough risking his fingers at someone's dog presence there...).

P.S. I'm asking not as unaware layman but as a dog owner myself who travelled by ferry with my dog in hottest times of summer. Found no problem, if all health precautions are thought in advance.

Wouldnt leaving windows open a crack not let the fumes in quicker

I seem to remember the car decks stinking of fumes when ever I've used them

Maybe, we used different carriers... I never felt anything coming from decks that would affect my nose strong enough to make this fact staying in my memory.

Signed Matey,hope the result is favourable.

Brian

Do the ferry companies charge for pets? Bet they will once they're obliged to offer facilities

Why is there no proper travel arrangements for pets on the Cross Channel Ferries. The Isle of Man Ferry from Heysham has a deck room reserved for people travelling with their pets. So it can be done.

I suppose that it is all about money. Channel Ferries have intense competition while the Isle of Man Ferry has a monopoly and charges relatively high fares.

Tony

Going back to earlier point, the reason LPG vehicles cannot use the channel tunnel is not so much a problem of safety but (as I understand it), that it was not requested when the initial licence to operate the service was granted (probably as LPG vehicles were very rare). You'll probably find you can't take a horse drawn carriage either despite the worst that will happen is a steaming pile of manure

MountainGoat wrote:Why is there no proper travel arrangements for pets on the Cross Channel Ferries.

My personal experience showed it different. I travelled with my dog by DFDS to and from France right this summer. Though, if you mean broader interpretation of word 'pet' than just cats and dogs, then I might agree with you because all other pets are explicitly not supported in their ToS.

dobby wrote:Do the ferry companies charge for pets? Bet they will once they're obliged to offer facilities

The 1st question is 'yes', the 2nd part is 'no'. They charged me 30 pounds for a dog but stated clearly that pets must stay in owner's car and it is the only supported way of transportation as the carrier doesn't provide any facility.

The explanation about the charge was it not for the fact of carrying a pet but for compensating carrier's expenses for licensing cross-border pets scheme that UK gov maintains for keeping control of pets arriving the UK. So, it's all goes down to your chances of lobbying your MPs to finally abolish this ancient law.