Shocked shoppers have been left bewildered in a NSW Aldi store last week. Pictures have emerged on social media of a woman with an ‘assistance cat’ in her trolley at an Aldi supermarket in Jerrabomberra, news.com.au is reporting.
The cat was leashed and wearing a harness, and was sitting in the spot in the trolley where a toddler would normally be seated.
The post was originally shared to the Aldi Fans Australia Facebook page, where the comments under the post were torn. Some users thought her furry friend was harmless and adorable, while others called it a hygiene issue.
“Here is something that is rare to see in an Aldi store. It is the first time I have ever seen an assistance cat anywhere in public. Jerrabomberra Aldi, NSW,” the caption under the post reads.
“Yuck, assistance or not. I don’t believe animals should be allowed in our trolleys we put our food,” one user commented.
In Australia, according to the RSPCA, an assistance animal is one that “may be able to help you if you have a disability such as vision or hearing loss, other physical disabilities, or psychosocial disability. Assistance animals are specially trained to alleviate the effects of a person’s disability.”
Assistance animals are most commonly dogs, but just about any animal can qualify as an ‘emotional support animal’, which do not have the same legal standing as a recognised assistance animal.
While it’s illegal to deny someone and their assistance animal entry to a business, an emotional support animal doesn’t have to be accommodated. So in this case it would be up to Aldi to decide if it allowed the cat in or not.
Is claiming a cat as assistance animal going too far?
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