WHAT HOP-ENED!
Oh, hare: United probes death of giant rabbit
UNITED AIRLINES is hopping to investigate the death of a giant rabbit on a transatlantic flight.
The airline, which recently came under fire for the violent removal of passenger David Dao, said it was examining closed-circuit TV images to determine what exactly happened to Simon, a 10-month-old, 3-foot continental giant rabbit traveling from London’s Heathrow Airport to Chicago’s O’Hare Airport this week.
The big bunny, expected to outgrow his record-setting father to become the world’s largest rabbit, was en route to a new, unidentified celebrity owner when he died in a Boeing 767’s cargo hold.
Annette Edwards, a former model who breeds giant rabbits in Worcestershire, said Simon had been labeled fit to fly, with vets declaring him “in good physical condition” the day his plane took off.
“Something very strange has happened and I want to know what,” Edwards told The Sun.
In a statement, United Airlines said it was “saddened” by the news and is “reviewing” the matter.
Though travel for pets is typically considered safe, this is hardly the first time an animal has died on an airline.
According to data from the Department of Transportation, 26 animals died while another 22 were injured on flights in 2016. The agency estimated about one death for every 10,000 animals transported that year.
United Airlines in 2016 reported nine animal deaths and another 14 injuries out of the 109,149 pets carried by the airline.
Those occurrences made up more than half of all incidents reported across airline carriers that transport pets.
United Airlines reported the second-highest incident rate after Hawaiian Airlines, which saw the death of three out of the nearly 8,000 animals traveling with them in 2016.
A United spokesman insisted the rate of animal deaths, injuries and losses is very low. He added the smallest injuries, even something like a broken toenail, get reported and that most deaths are the result of a pre-existing condition.
“We are always looking to improve customer experience, whether that’s a customer traveling in our cabin or if it’s a pet that we’re transporting. We work with professionals who care about those pets and we understand pets are part of the family,” he said.
United’s PetSafe program promises a climate-controlled, pressurized cargo environment, specially trained staff and a pettracking feature. A portion of the program’s website is dedicated to prepping pets for travel.