Lawyer to United: ‘This case is about more than one rabbit’
DES MOINES, Iowa — United Airlines hasn’t explained why a giant rabbit died after being flown from London to Chicago or why it had the animal cremated within hours of his death, a lawyer for the rabbit’s buyers said Monday, announcing possible legal action.
Des Moines attorney Guy Cook, representing an Iowa group that bought the continental giant rabbit named Simon, said his clients want details about Simon’s death and an explanation of why he was cremated before a necropsy, or post-mortem examination, could be conducted.
Cook said he sent a letter to United on May 4 but hasn’t received a reply, other than a confirmation that the matter had been referred to the airline’s lawyers.
“United has taken no action to rectify this,” Cook said, raising larger questions about how the airline treats the animals it transports. “This case is about more than one rabbit.”
Simon flew from London’s Heathrow Airport to Chicago on April 20 and was supposed to fly an onward leg to Kansas City, Missouri, but he died after landing at O’Hare International Airport.
United spokesman Charles Hobart said the company had reached “a satisfactory resolution” with the rabbit’s breeder, Annette Edwards, in Worcestershire in the United Kingdom. Asked about the letter from the animal’s buyers, the cremation or other issues, he said only that Edwards was United’s customer and that she had turned down an offer of a post-mortem examination.
At the time of his death, Simon was about 3 12⁄ feet long and weighed 20 pounds.