So I wanted to attend Haslemere Hall (HH) to watch a film but my admittance to watch said film was being limited because I would be accompanied by my emotional support animal, Amani. I understand that Amani as a cat does not have any legal rights of access to public places but under the Equality Act 2010 I have the right not to be discriminated against or excluded on the basis of my mental health and for reasonable adjustments to be made. I have Amani to help me with social anxiety allowing me to go out on my own and thereby alleviating the isolation that often comes as a result of social anxiety. Amani is transported in a pet specific stroller that also acts as my mobility aid as I have Fibromyalgia and struggle with my mobility. Amani is prescribed by my GP as treatment for my mental health, so to exclude Amani is to exclude me.
I first attended HH on Friday 8th July 2022 to watch Top Gun Maverick with a friend and while Amani being there was a bit surprising, the staff and volunteers were able to sort out our seating (we had booked online and for fire safety reasons could not sit in the seats we had booked) and we enjoyed the film. Other patrons engaged with me asking questions which I happily answered and when they heard Amani was for my emotional support they were all very understanding and thought it was a wonderful, albeit unusual, thing to see (a typical reaction when I’m out). Some of the staff were even fawning all over Amani prior to us getting to our seats. During the film Amani was enclosed in her stroller with a snood to help reduce the noise for Amani and for a short period during interval she was out of her stroller on her harness and leash to stretch her legs. At no time was she out of my sight or control.
When the manager showed us to our seats she told me that if I wanted to come again that I should contact the box office directly as the seats she moved us to were not sold online.
So when my friend and I decided we would like to see Where the Crawdads Sing on 16th August 2022, I did as the manager had suggested and tried to call the box office on Monday 25th July 2022 only to either be cut off from being on hold or go straight to voicemail even though I was calling inside opening hours; so I sent an email.
While initially reserving the tickets for me HH had indicated that there may be an issue with admitting Amani with the UK Cinema Association. I let HH know that admittance of Amani was covered by the Equality Act 2010 and that I had been to other cinema’s without incident. I also contacted the Association directly and provided them with the letter (which I had also I supplied to HH) from the Emotional Support Animal Registry UK that I get as part of my registration of Amani.
I didn’t hear anything further from the UK Cinema Association but the next communication from HH now indicated the problem was about insurance and liability with regards to patrons who may have an allergy.
OK yes I get that someone may have an allergy to animal fur. In fact I have friends who are but it doesn’t stop them from visiting me and if I visit them, Amani is kept secure in her stroller or backpack or we sit outside weather permitting. I also understand that everyone should be able to use public services with as much freedom as possible. I’ve also encountered people in cafe’s and my Pilates class who will not be near me during their visit.
My question for HH is this: if there was a guide dog and someone was allergic to dogs would the dog and handler be stopped from attending? Or expected to have Public Liability Insurance? Or, anyone with a severe allergy to animal fur having a reaction just by coming in contact with someone who has fur on their clothes – where would the liability lie in that situation? Do you expect every patron attending the venue to have public liability insurance? And are you asking them to prove it too?
I have been to numerous places around Haslemere, Guildford and London in the 2 years that I have had Amani which have included the likes of The O2 Arena, RSCH, Haslemere Health Centre and Hospital, M&S Food, The Odeon Cinema in Guildford , Pilates classes and my hairdresser to name a few, and this is the first time that her admittance has been such an issue.
I genuinely feel like HH was doing its best to discourage me from attending to make their lives easier even going so far as to say I needed Public Liability insurance before they would admit me. Now, the ESA UK does recommend that ESA Handlers have insurance for their animals as we are liable for any CONTROL ISSUES (nothing about allergies). HH tried to use this to say that if I agreed “then it would appear that you would be liable in the event of any cancelled tickets by other customers, damage claims, allergic reactions etc.“ thereby trying to shift any and all liability to me for any incident occurring at the hall if I was in attendance.
I am not obligated to have public liability insurance for a cat, in fact, there is no legal requirement to have pet insurance at all. I have chosen to insure Amani and just so happen to have public liability insurance as part of the policy.
With less than a week to the showing of the film HH emailed to say they still couldn’t confirm arrangements due to staff illness (fair enough, illness happens and I know that they are run by part time staff and volunteers) but they indicated trying to “give you and your friend seats that could be isolated to a degree” as “a ‘one off’ arrangement”. For an organisation who is dependent on the goodwill of patrons they certainly have gone out of their way to make me feel like a burden and very unwelcome to their venue. I let HH know that this was not an acceptable solution for me and that I would take it further.
I made contact with the Haslemere Town Council and Waverley Borough Council both of who weren’t able to assist as they had no jurisdiction over HH so I made contact with the local media. I had set an appointment with The Haslemere Herald for Monday 15th August and I spoke with BBC South Today on Friday 12 August at the same time as an email from HH arrived asking me to meet in person. I let HH know I would be happy to but that I had prior appointments for Monday morning which they had suggested and that the afternoon would suit me better.
It wasn’t until 20:20 on Friday 12th I finally got an email from manager, Howard Bicknell, nearly 3 weeks after making initial contact to book tickets, to say he didn’t want me to change any existing appointments (I had offered to do this) but sadly we were not able to arrange a time to meet in person and the only day I was able to see Where the Crawdads Sing was the Tuesday showing. And so I was unable to see the film.
The story was on BBC South Today on 15 August 2022 at 18:30 and I spoke live to James Cannon on BBC Radio Surrey on 16 August 2022 at 09:10.
I am still willing to meet with HH and they told the BBC they are trying to meet with me but I have not had any further communication from them since my last email on the evening of Friday 12th of August. Hmmmm.
Emotional Support Animals are a life line to many people. For me Amani gives me a reason to get out of bed every morning and allows me to go out on my own. Without her I would be isolated at home, and the more isolation experienced makes it more difficult to go out at all. I am determined not to be held back by social anxiety or fibromyalgia. I want to live a life of quality and really don’t think I should be stopped from doing just that. In future I will just go to The Odeon cinema in Guildford