Bunny Shipping

Betty and Carol G. each shipped two rabbits, two English Angora and two American Fuzzy Lop, to our Canadian member Holly. Since some of our readers have not experienced shipping bunnies by air, we are sharing two photos of the shipping.

In the first photo, four rabbits are in a large carrier with a solid top. In this case, the solid top is metal. It makes the carrier heavier but more sturdy and safe. A bag of feed is taped to the top. In the past, such care package could be put under the carrier. 9-11 changed the packing. Everything has to be in transparent bags and put in a visible place. Taped to the top is a piece of paper that contains the addresses and phone numbers of the person who is shipping the bunnies and the person who is receiving the bunnies. If a metal top is unavailable, a cardboard could be used in place of the metal top.

On the left corner of the same photo there is the cart to roll the carrier into the cargo office, a bottle to take water to the cargo office and the pink paper pile that contains four health certificates, one for each rabbit. The health certificates have to be issued within ten days of shipping.

In the second photo, it shows the rabbits inside the carrier. The two American Fuzzy Lop are younger and smaller, the larger one of the three holes is divided into two by a piece of cardboard. The two English Angora are does, the broken Fuzzy Lop is a doe also, and the one in the back standing up trying to see what's going on is a buck. Each compartment has two tuna cans, one for feed and another for water. Water is added after arriving at the cargo office.

This shipping is handled by Air Canada. It requires the carrier to be dropped off 3 hours prior to the scheduled flight. The person who does the shipping also has to show ID and sign papers to show the time when the animals were last fed and watered and that there's no dangerous material in the shipment. The cargo office personnel also does a visual check to make sure everything is safe.

At the time of this post, the flight with bunnies just took off. We wish a safe trip for the bunnies and pleasant reception for Holly.