Nearly a year after their rabbit died following a three-day journey with Air Canada, Rosie’s family is speaking publicly and supporting a campaign to allow rabbits to travel inside aircraft cabins.

Rabbit Dies After Three-Day Journey With Air Canada, Family Pushes For Policy Change

Rosie was a “companion rabbit” whose family was relocating from Calgary, Alberta (YYC) to Lisbon, Portugal (LIS) in late 2025.

Air Canada does not permit rabbits to travel in the passenger cabin, so Rosie was transported separately in the cargo hold. According to her family and the advocacy group LetBunniesFly, what might ordinarily have been a roughly 12-hour trip turned into a three-day journey that included a lengthy stop in Montreal.

When Rosie was finally reunited with her family in Lisbon, they say she was weak, barely responsive, and already critically ill.

She died several days later.

Rosie’s family did not immediately publicize what happened. Nearly a year later, they have shared her story with LetBunniesFly, which is now using the case to pressure Air Canada and other airlines to reconsider policies that prohibit rabbits from traveling in the cabin.

What Rosie’s Family Says Happened

Let me first say that the account below has not been independently established through a regulatory investigation or court proceeding, and Air Canada has not publicly provided a detailed account of Rosie’s transportation.

According to the family, Rosie traveled from Calgary to Lisbon through Montreal as cargo and remained separated from them for approximately three days.

They allege that:

The itinerary was unnecessarily long
Rosie was not given hay because it was considered too messy
Her kennel appeared not to have been properly cleaned
She did not receive adequate care during the journey

The hay allegation is particularly significant because rabbits require a near-constant supply of fiber to keep their digestive systems functioning. Per the family. a rabbit that stops eating can quickly develop gastrointestinal stasis, a potentially fatal condition.

LetBunniesFly says Rosie was already severely compromised by the time her family collected her from the cargo facility in Lisbon. Despite attempts to save her, she died a few days later.

The organization argues that even if Rosie had been required to travel as cargo, a more direct itinerary and species-appropriate care might have produced a different outcome. But the central claim of the campaign goes further: Rosie should have been allowed to travel with her family inside the cabin.

Rosie’s Family Wants Air Canada To Allow Rabbits In The Cabin

LetBunniesFly has launched a change.org petition asking Air Canada to revise its pet policy in Rosie’s memory.

The group is proposing a phased approach:

Immediately permit rabbits in the cabin on flights within Canada and between Canada and the United States
Develop procedures for in-cabin rabbit travel between Canada and the European Union within two years
Expand the policy to other international routes within three to five years wherever regulations permit

The petition argues that a rabbit small enough to fit inside an approved carrier beneath the seat should be treated similarly to a small dog or cat.

It also says Rosie’s family did not have a realistic alternative. They were moving permanently rather than taking a vacation, and surrendering her to an already crowded animal shelter was not something they considered acceptable.

Airlines adopt different approaches to rabbits. Many restrict in-cabin pets to dogs and cats, while some carriers allow rabbits on at least certain routes. Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines restored in-cabin rabbit travel in January 2026.

Air Canada Has Not Publicly Explained Rosie’s Journey

There are still important unanswered questions.

It is not clear why Rosie’s journey lasted three days, precisely what care Air Canada Cargo agreed to provide during the Montreal connection, or whether hay was for some reason prohibited by the airline, a cargo handler, or another party involved in the shipment.

There is also no publicly available veterinary report establishing Rosie’s exact cause of death or directly attributing it to a particular act or omission by Air Canada.

That does not mean the family’s account should be dismissed, but it does mean that much of what is now being reported remains their version of events, amplified by an advocacy organization seeking a broader policy change.

Air Canada’s own explanation would therefore be helpful (Live And Let’s Fly has asked).

The airline may contend that live-animal shipments involve specialized documentation, import requirements, handlers, and risks that differ significantly from an ordinary passenger itinerary. It may also point to government or public-health considerations when defending its limit on the species allowed inside the cabin.

But those broader issues do not answer what happened to Rosie during this particular journey.

A Broader Debate Over Rabbits On Aircraft

Rosie’s death has become part of a larger campaign over whether airlines should distinguish between rabbits and more commonly accepted household pets.

Those supporting a policy change argue that rabbits are quiet, clean, and generally remain confined inside small carriers. They also say rabbits are physiologically sensitive animals that may be especially poorly suited to long periods in cargo facilities without direct supervision.

Airlines, meanwhile, must consider allergies, sanitation, animal behavior, destination regulations, and the practical difficulty of accommodating an ever-expanding range of species.

There is also a legitimate distinction between saying that rabbits should be permitted on some flights and claiming that every airline must transport them on every international itinerary. International animal entry rules can be complicated, and an airline may be unable to offer the same policy in every market.

The petition directed at Air Canada attempts to account for that by asking for a gradual rollout beginning with routes where its organizers believe the regulatory issues are clearest.

CONCLUSION

Rosie died several days after completing a three-day journey with Air Canada from Calgary to Lisbon. Her family says she arrived severely weakened after traveling without adequate food or care, though Air Canada has not publicly supplied its own detailed account of what occurred.

Nearly a year later, Rosie’s family is working to turn her death into a campaign for change.

Their immediate goal is to persuade Air Canada to allow companion rabbits to travel in the cabin on domestic Canadian and transborder flights, followed eventually by service to Europe and other international destinations.

What are your thoughts on this issue? As the #3 household pet (behind dogs and cats), should rabbits also be allowed to travel in cabins or be considered “service” animals?