Flying Bunnies!

I am an experienced shipper. I say this because I think I've already made every mistake imaginable and have learned from them all. I have shipped my bunnies to Canada, Hawaii and Domestic US.

My first shipping experience was to Canada. Luckily, Canada only requires the same paperwork/vet certificates. The only problem is that I booked a flight on a date when the inspections office was closed in Toronto. Well, that was not the only problem. Actually, the airline I booked the flight with also did not accept rabbits as cargo (United). I show up at the airport (a 1.5 hour drive from me) and they tell me I have to go to the main terminal. I guess they thought I was traveling with the bunny. It was a big hassle and eventually I learned that I could not use United as a carrier. I contacted Air Canada and everything went well the second time around. After this experience I promised my husband that I would no longer ship rabbits.

My second shipping experience was to Miama, Florida. I made arrangements with Delta and everything went well until we were back home after dropping them off and got a call from Delta explaining that the cooling system wasn't working on the plane and they couldn't ship the bunnies. I was pregnant and hormonal and NOT happy with the situation. The bunnies were sitting at the airport and they said we had to come get them ASAP. My husband had to drive 3 hours after an evening work event. He got home around 1AM and had to turn around and drive back to the airport at 4AM to drop them off at American Airlines to make the trip to Miami. This was the second time that I promised him I wouldn't ship bunnies anymore.

I have had a few very good experiences. I shipped to Hawaii twice with no problems using Continental. I also shipped to Minnesota using Northwest and had no problems. Each time I have promised my husband that I wouldn't ship anymore.

In order to ship rabbits, you must have a special carrier with ventilation on all 4 sides and a solid top and bottom. The rabbits need individual compartments with a food and water dish in each compartment. This is the easy part. You also need a vet health certificate dated within 7-10 days of shipping date. This is also pretty easy, but you have to be sure the temperatures in the departure and destination city and stops in between are good. I don't ship in the hot summer. The hard part is to find an airline that understands the rules and regulations for shipping rabbits and is capable of making everything go smoothly. You also need to check and see what the hours of operation are for any inspection facilities. Bunnies do not need any vaccines and rabies is not an issue.

What I have learned from shipping rabbits is that as many times as I have promised not to ship again I always end up doing it one more time. I think my poor husband has realized this and he now just goes along with whatever I decide. I have also learned that I definitely need to stick around until the bunnies are in the air or at least be half expecting a call to tell me that they couldn't get on the flight and are now sitting and waiting for me to come rescue them.

It is a pretty exciting feeling to know that my little RBB bunnies are all over North America. I guess that is why I will continue to ship. For anyone interested, it is pretty expensive. It ranges from $250-$350 for 1 to 6 rabbits. That price includes the carrier, vet health certificate, cargo charges and gas money for me to travel to the airport and vet.