Airline launches investigation after rabbit expected to be the world’s biggest found dead after travelling from London to Chicago

This article is more than 3 years old

This article is more than 3 years old

United Airlines has said a potentially record-breaking giant rabbit died in its care, but only after the transatlantic flight it was travelling on had landed.

The 3ft (90cm) continental giant rabbit, which was 10 months old and named Simon, died while travelling from London Heathrow to O’Hare airport in Chicago.

The airline revealed it had offered the customer compensation and, contrary to previous reports, clarified that the animal was alive when it was taken off the flight.

United’s spokesman Charles Hobart said the animal had appeared healthy and shown no signs of distress upon landing.

About 30 minutes later, he said, the rabbit was sleeping in a pet facility run by the company, and shortly afterwards an employee opened its cage to find it dead.

It comes three weeks after a video showing a passenger being dragged off a United flight sparked widespread outrage.

“We won’t know the cause of death because we offered to perform a necropsy free of charge – that’s standard procedure – but the customer didn’t want us to perform a necropsy, and we understand,” said Hobart.

Owner Annette Edwards, a breeder from Worcestershire, told the Sun that Simon had been expected to grow to be the world’s biggest rabbit after his father Darius grew to 4ft 4in (1.32 metres). She said his buyer was famous.

She told the Associated Press: “Simon had his vet check just before getting on the plane. He was fit as a fiddle.”

United says it is investigating the incident and a spokesperson said: “We were saddened to hear this news. The safety and wellbeing of all the animals that travel with us is of the utmost importance to United Airlines and our PetSafe team.”

This month David Dao, 69, from Kentucky, was seen with a bloodied face after being forcibly taken off a plane by Chicago airport officers who had been summoned by United employees when he would not give up his seat.

Speaking after that incident, United’s chief executive, Oscar Munoz, said: “The truly horrific event that occurred on this flight has elicited many responses from all of us: outrage, anger, disappointment. I share all of those sentiments and one above all: my deepest apologies for what happened.

“Like you, I continue to be disturbed by what happened on this flight and I deeply apologise to the customer forcibly removed and to all the customers aboard. No one should ever be mistreated this way.”

Play Video 0:46 United Airlines passenger forcibly removed from overbooked flight – video

The most recent figures from the US Department of Transportation – dating from 2015 but released this February – show 35 animal deaths occurred during transit across 17 carriers in the US.



United accounted for 14 animal deaths in that period, with a further nine reported injured among the nearly 100,000 animals carried by the company.

Edwards also told the Sun: “Something very strange has happened and I want to know what. I’ve sent rabbits all around the world and nothing like this has happened before. The client who bought Simon is very famous. He’s upset.”