by Donald Wood
Last updated: 12:40 AM ET, Wed May 10, 2017
United Airlines continues dealing with a barrage of bad press, as the people who bought the massive rabbit that died during a trans-Atlantic flight are considering possible legal action against the carrier.
According to The Associated Press, Des Moines attorney Guy Cook is representing an Iowa group that purchased Simon, the continental giant rabbit that died last month after landing at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago following a flight from London's Heathrow Airport.
Cook said officials from United have yet to explain how the rabbit died and why the carrier cremated the animal within hours of his death without the consent of its owners.
When Cook reached out to United, he was told that the situation had been referred to the airline's lawyers.
On May 1, United spokesman Charles Hobart said that the airline had come to "a satisfactory resolution" with the rabbit's breeder, Annette Edwards, in the United Kingdom. Hobart said that Edwards had turned down an offer of a post-mortem examination.
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The Iowa group that purchased Simon is seeking an estimated $2,300 to make up for the costs of buying and transporting the rabbit, as well as the loss of future earnings.
The group planned to tour with the massive animal, which was expected to grow to over 3.5 feet long and 40 pounds, making it the largest rabbit in the world.
United has been dealing with several public relations nightmares over the last few months, as the carrier has come under scrutiny for barring girls wearing leggings, dragging a passenger off an overbooked flight and sending a woman 3,000 miles in the wrong direction.
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