A rabbit breeder, whose giant rabbit froze to death after being placed in
frosty temperatures for 16 hours by airline staff, has been given a five-figure compensation by the
United Airlines.
Simon, the three-foot long bunny, was frozen to death
last week Wednesday on it’s way to America to meet its new celebrity
owner.
The pet was alive and healthy when the owner, Annette
Edwards, took him to the airport. She revealed that a vet had checked
him before he was placed on the flight and declared him fit. He was
alive when he was taken off the plane from London’s Heathrow airport but
died at a holding facility at Chicago O’Hare Airport.
Simon
Edwards became
suspicious after she was informed that Simon was dead and she kept
demanding for the truth of what happened to him and also for his body
but the airline told her he had been cremated. She became convinced that
foul play was involved in the death of her pet and it was later
confirmed by an airport worker who revealed that the pet was placed in
frosty temperatures by mistake for up to 16 hours, causing it to freeze
to death last Wednesday.
“The whole thing stinks of a cover-up. I
had been asking United over and over again for his body so that I can
have him examined here in Britain but they never got back to me,”
Edwards earlier told The Sun.“Then finally, late on Friday,
they called and told me he had been cremated and there was nothing they
could do. I suspected he was dropped but to find out he was frozen to
death has really knocked me. I had asked for the CCTV but they wouldn’t
give me it and now I know why.
Simon was Edwards’ most prized
bunny and was expected to outgrow his enormous father to become the
largest rabbit in the world. A celebrity in Iowa had just bought him and
he was on his way to his new owner when he got locked in a freezer on a
United Airlines flight overnight. The new owner intended to show him at
the Iowa State Fair. A pen and toys had been made ready for the pet and
on the day of his expected arrival, the owner’s manager had driven from
the Des Moines area to Kansas City and was nearing the airport to
welcome Simon when United called with the bad news.
When reports emerged
that Simon died due to carelessness on the part of the airline’s staff,
a United spokesman denied the claims, saying:
“That assertion
is completely false. Simon was cared for at the PetSafe kennel facility
which is kept at room temperature (on average 70F). He arrived at
Chicago O’Hare airport in apparent good condition at 10:25 am (local time). He was seen by a representative of the kennel facility moving about within his crate about 11:00 am. Shortly thereafter, a kennel representative noticed Simon was motionless and determined that he passed away.”
United
said the rabbit was moving around in his crate and appeared healthy
when taken off the plane in Chicago, waiting to be put on another flight
to Kansas City. About half an hour later, at the company-run pet
facility, Simon seemed to be asleep. Shortly after that, a pet facility
employee opened the cage and found the rabbit dead. The spokesman said
the airline was reviewing its handling of the animal.
“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,” he said.
Edwards, the
former Playboy model turned bunny breeder, has been awarded an
undisclosed cash sum on the condition she does not discuss the case. The
incident is the latest embarrassment to United Airlines after it
sparked global outcry last month when a passenger was dragged off an
overbooked plane.
360L
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