All across the United States volunteer pilots assist with rescuing or relocating endangered animals. They transport animals that have narrowly escaped euthanasia at high-kill shelters to new homes or no-kill shelters where they have a much higher chance of adoption. They assist our veterans with transport of service animals or to be reunited with their military working dog partners after the dog’s retirement. Pilots can deliver supplies for animals during times of disaster and they can also assist in cases where injured wildlife need to be moved for treatment.
To find an animal rescue group to meet your needs, please visit our directory of groups and select Animal Transport under the list of services.
Why is animal transport needed?
Animal transportation by volunteer pilots is necessary because there is a supply and demand aspect to homeless animals. There are areas of the country with overwhelming numbers of animals in need of a home, and other areas where there’s an abundance of people looking to adopt a pet. One trend we often see is more homeless animals in southern states. For example an animal in a southern shelter may never find an adoptive home locally, but if that same animal is transported to a northern state, a home could easily be found within just a matter of days.
For decades rescuers transported animals by car. A typical transport could involve 10+ drivers, each driving a one hour leg. Generally speaking this form of transport is more stressful on the animals as they have to change vehicles and come in contact with a higher number of people as compared to air travel.
