THE breeder of Simon the giant rabbit has slammed United Airlines after they cremated him without her consent.
Annette Edwards, 65, had called for a post-mortem but later learned the ten-month-old’s body had been burned on Friday.
The 3ft bunny froze to death last month after bungling ground staff at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport put him in a chiller by accident.
He had been flown there from Heathrow and was destined for a celebrity owner in Ohio.
Former Playboy model Annette, of Stoulton, Worcs, said: “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.
“All I want to know is how he died.
“He was fit as a fiddle when he left my house and then 24 hours later he’s dead.
“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.”
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Annette, 65, gave The Sun a copy of a pre-flight check from her local vet Jonathan Niccol.
He wrote how he examined Simon on April 19 and concluded that he was in “good physical condition and fit to travel”.
Simon was ten-months-old when he died.
He was the son of Darius, the world’s biggest rabbit, and set to take over the title.
United, under fire for dragging a man off a flight, said it was talking to Annette with a “desire to make this right”.
A spokesman said: “We were saddened by the loss of Simon and have worked with Annette Edwards to reach a satisfactory resolution.”