Mystery as world's-biggest-rabbit contender dies on United Airlines flight to O'Hare

[jpak]

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2017/04/26/mystery-over-giant-rabbits-death-united-flight/100920770/

LONDON — A giant rabbit died in unexplained circumstances on a United Airlines flight from Britain to Chicago in the latest unfortunate incident to hit the beleaguered airline, British media reported Wednesday.

Simon, a 3-foot, 10-month-old Continental Giant rabbit, was found dead after the Boeing 767 landed at Chicago O’Hare International Airport following its departure from London Heathrow, the Sun newspaper reported.

Rabbit breeder Annette Edwards told the newspaper that the rabbit, which was likely to grow to be the biggest in the world after its father Darius held the title of the world’s biggest rabbit at 4ft 4in long, was being transported to its new celebrity owner. It wasn't immediately clear when the incident occurred and what caused the animal's death.

“Simon had a vet’s check-up three hours before the flight and was fit as a fiddle,” Edwards 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.”

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[masmdu]

1. NO'Hare

[Warren DeMontague]

2. Well played.

[tallahasseedem]

9. ROFL!

Holy crap, I needed that in a really bad way. DUzy, best line, give you all the awards....

ROFL!!!

[malaise]

15. A fitting tribute to Pinboy

[Chiyo-chichi]

17. Just what I was thinking.

[nolabear]

18. pinboy would be laughing and trying to best you!

Well played! 😂

[boston bean]

28. WO'Hare

[dixiegrrrrl]

40. Duzy!!

[WinkyDink]

46. Totally awesome!

[Orrex]

3. United's scandals continue to multiply

[Warren DeMontague]

5. Celebrity? I dont think Beiber should get a monster bunny until he accounts for his monkey first.

[Warren DeMontague]

4. Dude, it's a 3 foot long rabbit.

There's probably a reason rabbits arent normally that big.

I'm not sure this qualifies as a mystery, sherlock.

[Manly_Scream]

14. The rabbit was a "Flemish Giant"

Or "Continental Giant" as people in the UK call them.

They've existed for at least 100 years and are always at least 3 feet tall.

This rabbit's father is 4 feet, and 9 years old (elderly for a rabbit.)

What *is* concerning however is the age of the rabbit (it was only 10 months old)

Rabbits are an animal that can literally get scared to death. Even my 4-year-old rabbit was getting jittery at the beginning of a car ride, until I kept calming and comforting him (my rabbit lived to be 8 and a half).

I wonder if that's what happened to Simon.

[Orrex]

21. So, the deceased was the hare apparent?

[oasis]

22. Condolences to his hairy parent.

[dixiegrrrrl]

41. *groan*

[Warren DeMontague]

25. Interesting.

It was probably his first time on a plane, I'd wager that had something to do with it. Plus it was united.

I apologize for not being able to come up with some rabbit puns.

[Manly_Scream]

43. I really don't think United's at fault here...

Simon's breeder said she's had rabbits on planes before and this never happened.

But how *old* were those rabbits? Had they been on car rides before going on a plane?

What's more, according to HuffPo, Simon was 50 pounds.

It's one thing for a rabbit that's 4'4" to weigh that much, but at 3 feet, that could be too fat, rendering the rabbit's heart weaker than average.

She said the vet said he was "perfectly healthy" but I think some vets out there have given up on telling owners that they're turning their animals into fatasses (according to my Grandma, the vet's okay with the family pug being 30 pounds)

Here in this video, the breeder says that another rabbit named "Jeffery" (also a product of Darius) is "next in line to hold the title" but NOW supposedly it was the very young Simon, who didn't even exist when this video was uploaded :

&feature=youtube_gdata_player

I wouldn't go as far as to say she's abusing her rabbits, but considering how up in age Darius is, perhaps she's eager to hold onto the spotlight of having the "biggest rabbits ever" and is cramming more calories into Darius's litter than what is optimum.

[Warren DeMontague]

48. Jesus, That's a big fucking rabbit.

That's really all I have to say on the matter.

[Manly_Scream]

56. Would you

Last edited Sat May 6, 2017, 02:31 AM - Edit history (1)

Let out a "manly scream" if you saw it in person?

[Warren DeMontague]

57. I WOULD DEMAND MY HASENPFEFFER

And then I would laugh. A manly laugh, for manly men such as we.

[jberryhill]

27. Bloodthirsty killers

[Horse with no Name]

31. Flemish Giants and Continentals are different breeds

They are close and some people cross breed them but they carry different color traits.

[Manly_Scream]

44. Thanks for the correction.

[randome]

6. The in-flight movie starred Bugs Bunny and the rabbit had a reaction to Elmer Fudd.

Somebody in authority needs to hop to it and solve this rascally mystery.
[hr][font color="blue"][center]There is nothing you can't do if you put your mind to it.
Nothing.[/center][/font][hr]

[Lochloosa]

12. ....

[Blue_Tires]

24. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

YOU BASTARDS!!!

[Ilsa]

39. It's "wascally". nt

[Orrex]

7. The stress of travel can often cause hare loss.

[tallahasseedem]

10. LOL!

[B2G]

13. Winner

Thanks to everyone else for playing.

[nolabear]

19. Mic drop.

[underpants]

32. Well played

[underpants]

47. Stole your line for Facebook

21 likes and 6 responses.

[Orrex]

50. You have some sick friends!

[Raster]

51. Hare today. Gone tomorrow.

[Lee-Lee]

8. Guess he won't make the next hop in his trip

[Orrex]

11. Yes!

[randome]

16. "Rabbits On A Plane" -starring Samuel Jackson!

Eh. Maybe not.
[hr][font color="blue"][center]There is nothing you can't do if you put your mind to it.
Nothing.[/center][/font][hr]

[Initech]

20. Get these motherfucking rabbits off this motherfucking plane!

[randome]

23. So the vet did him in, eh? Follow the insurance money.

[hr][font color="blue"][center]There is nothing you can't do if you put your mind to it.
Nothing.[/center][/font][hr]

[boston bean]

30. He pbviously wasn't vetted.

[randome]

34. Ahhh!

[jberryhill]

26. Kudos to United

We got lucky back in '72:

[Horse with no Name]

29. Rabbits die when they get stressed

Even if they were perfectly healthy 5 minutes before.

[DFW]

33. Let me guess......

The plane was overbooked, and the rabbit got strangled after it refused to give up its seat for a few of United's rodents?

[kerry-is-my-prez]

35. Pets get killed in cargo all the time. Always have them on the plane under the seat & have them

sedated. It is freezing cold in cargo most of the time.

[haele]

36. Hate to say, but they should have bought two seats and strapped the rabbit crate next to them.

Especially since the rabbit was too large to go under the seat. Or made arrangements to ship over with a shipper that specializes in special cargo and animals. Racing season is starting up, so there would have been several flights for horses from Europe that would have vet techs aboard in case there's trouble available to hitch a ride with.

A few decades ago, I shipped my two kitties with me when I was working out of state several times in a single medium sized dog crate (so they could be together and comfort each other) using Delta, as they had the best reputation for transport of pets in the 1980's and 1990's. But even then, I made sure the stewardesses would check on them during the flight every time after we stopped.

Rabbits are very nervous creatures, and I wouldn't trust shipping them - or birds, for that matter - in the "pressurized cargo" hold section along with the rest of baggage. They can die of fear, and tranquilizers can wear off during long flights.

Haele

[Orrex]

53. That's considered harey carry

[lindysalsagal]

37. Hare today, goon tomorrow

:medium

[secondwind]

38. Maybe they forgot to pressurize the hold. Alw

Always remind them if you have a pet traveling in the luggage hold

[Thor_MN]

49. I don't think it's an option to not pressurize the cargo hull.

The whole plane is pressurized, with the exception of the wheel wells.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

52. Pilots are always notified if there are live animals in cargo.

All aircraft cargo holds are pressurized but some sections are not heated. Cargo loaders are instructed always to place live animals in whichever hold is heated. If the cargo heating system fails with animals on board (and there is an indicator in the cockpit that lets the crew know), the pilot will land to keep them from freezing - at least, that was the rule at the airline I used to work at.

Even so, I'd never ship an animal in cargo because even though it's reasonably warm and pressurized, it will still be dark and noisy and stressful. The problem might be is that most airlines have size restrictions for animals carried in the cabin (typically they have to be small enough to ride in a carrier that fits under the seat), and they have to be accompanied by a passenger. This, unfortunately, was a 50-lb. rabbit.

I have heard rabbits are very easily stressed, so maybe United didn't do anything wrong (this time).

[TeamPooka]

42. Was Glenn Close on this flight? nt

[GulfCoast66]

45. So the rabbit ran out of luck

On that leg of the flight?

[Liberty Belle]

54. Ok so maybe Duncan Hunter flying his kid's rabbit first class

wasn't stupid after all, just corrupt in using his campaign funds to pay for it.

[woodsprite]

55. Must have been stung by a scorpion. Was there a doctor on board? n/t