Emotional support animals: has America's 'epidemic' gone too far?

Emotional support animals, or ESAs, have exploded across the US in recent years, with rising numbers of pet owners getting their animals certified online.
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Unlike in the UK, ESAs have legal status in the US on a tier below traditional service animals, but the backlash has begun - with critics complaining the system is being abused by regular pet owners who want to take their animals into unsuitable public spaces. The Guardian's Richard Sprenger - animal lover but pet sceptic - meets ESA owners and their animals across North America.

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