Giant rabbit dies on United Airlines flight

LONDON: United Airlines was under fire again Wednesday after a huge rabbit named Simon (pix) died while hopping over from London to Chicago, where he was due to be picked up by a celebrity buyer. The valuable 90cm-long continental giant rabbit had previously been described as “fit as a fiddle”, and his death in the cargo section of a Boeing 767 comes as a mystery.

“Something very strange has happened and I want to know what,” breeder Annette Edwards, from Worcestershire in central England, told a British newspaper.

“Simon had a vet’s check-up three hours before the flight and was fit as a fiddle,” she said, adding: “I’ve sent rabbits all around the world and nothing like this has happened before.”

Edwards also revealed that “the client who bought Simon is very famous. He’s upset”.

Ten-month-old Simon was expected to grow to become the world’s biggest rabbit, after his father Darius grew to 1.32 metres, Edwards said. According to the breeder such rabbits cost £5,000 (RM27,830) a year to keep.

The incident comes less than three weeks after United Airlines drew global outrage for forcefully dragging a passenger off an overbooked flight.

The airline said it was “saddened” to hear the news of Simon’s death. “The safety and well-being of all the animals that travel with us is of the utmost importance to United Airlines and our PetSafe team,” it said. – AFP