There are essentially two issues with ESAs - poor behavior and lying to avoid fees. For the first there should be a framework of cerification. If you want to b

There are essentially two issues with ESAs - poor behavior and lying to avoid fees. For the first there should be a framework of cerification. If you want to bring an ESA it should pass third party certification with different standards for housing and flights. For the second we should look at alternatives. If you want to fly with pet you have to pay hundreds, often well excess of your own ticket, for them to fly cargo (unless they can fly under your seat in which case it's $125). Why so high fees / bad experience? If a pet owner labels their pet ESA the pet gets to fly with them for free. Why can't pets fly free in cabin like infants under 2? If the pet is over a certain size, then person has to buy another seat (just like an older child). I think the certification standards and equalizing experience for pets would dramatically lower potential for abuse. These are shorter term fixes. In the long term we should keep building evidence on the question of effectiveness.