Territorians are ‘most likely’ to smuggle pets on planes and in hotels

A STAGGERING number of Territory animal owners have confessed to smuggling their pets on flights and into hotels.

Actor Johnny Depp with one of his two dogs. Picture: Pinterest

A STAGGERING number of Territory animal owners have confessed to smuggling their pets on flights and into hotels, with some wacky stories brought to light in a national survey.

The Wotif pet survey was conducted after Hollywood star Johnny Depp made headlines for smuggling his pet dogs into Australia last week.

The survey attracted 10,779 responses nationwide and revealed Territorians had smuggled everything from a snake to a puppy on private and commercial planes.

More than one third of Territory respondents (38 per cent) admitted to sneaking their pets on holidays.

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One NT respondent said they took their puppy on a commercial plane in a box. “She slept all the way and no one knew,” the person wrote.

Another NT respondent said her husband was a private pilot who flew around with a snake on board and kept it curled up in a “dark hiding spot”.

Territorians were the most likely to sneak their pets into accommodation that prohibited animals compared to travellers from other states. They were also the most likely to get caught with 16.7 per cent of NT respondents saying it had happened to them.

Darwin airport spokeswoman Ginny Sanders said she was aware of at least one recent case in which a traveller tried to smuggle a pet on a domestic flight from Darwin.

“It was identified in the person’s luggage at the check-in desk and the airline staff grabbed the pet and made sure it travelled the proper way,” she said.

“But we don’t keep a record of that sort of thing, it’s up to each individual airline what they let on their flights.”

Ms Sanders said penalties for carrying animals on flights without declaring them varied between airlines.

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Wotif spokeswoman Kirsty La Bruniy said dogs were the most “well-travelled” pets, with 83 per cent of national respondents revealing they take their pooch on holiday, while 13 per cent said they travelled with their cat.

Some of the most unusual cover-up stories included a respondent who claimed to have smuggled two ducks in a cardboard box on a plane as hand luggage and “sang to cover the noise” when they started quaking. Another respondent told of travelling with her flying fox which she hung in her hair on a flight.

Ms Bruniy did not respond to questions about why the respondents didn’t just check their animals in on flights or book pet friendly accommodation. She said people “who love to travel with their pets” could find animal friendly accommodation by using the ‘pets allowed’ search filter.

“We have thousands of pet-friendly accommodation options worldwide, and recommend everyone follows the rules when travelling with pets,” she said.