Bunnies, for the most part, are homebodies. They thrive in a stable environment with a steady routine. But for many house rabbits, travel is a necessity, whether it be a trip to the vet or a move to a different city, and the average bunny will not enjoy the experience – but with time, patience, and consistent practice, you can acclimatize your bun to travel and thus reduce his stress levels significantly.
Car Travel
Start by making sure the bun’s carrier is suitable. This means roomy enough for the bun to loaf comfortably, but not so spacious that your bun can slide around too much when you break for a red light. If your bun likes a little padding (a puppy pee pad, a towel, or a fleece blanket), all the better – just make sure it doesn’t get eaten! Ask yourself: Can I get my bun in and out fairly easily? Can I run a seatbelt through the top handle to secure the carrier? Will the latches or screws hold the carrier together, or do I need to ziptie the corners for added safety?
Now that you have your carrier, it’s super important for the bun to think of it with fondness. If it’s new, leave it out and open. Place the odd treat or serve meals in it. Let your bunny explore it and when finally inside the carrier, pet your bunny. The idea is to get your hopper to associate the carrier with enjoyable experiences. Some owners keep their carrier out all the time. Chewie (his story is featured below) knows he gets a treat in it first thing every morning – in fact, if his mom late, he goes inside and waits for her to let mom know it’s treat time.
Next, go on some short walking trips. Just close the carrier door, pick it up, go for a little walk around the house, return, let the bun out for some indignant foot flicks, and repeat over time until your bunny is no longer annoyed with you when you do this. Never stop the positive associations… food is key.
Keep the first car ride short. It helps if you have the radio off and talk to your bun. The sound of your voice will help comfort him. It also helps if you can strap the bun’s carrier either in the seat beside you (if your car automatically turns off the passenger airbag when there’s no human sitting there) or in the middle back seat so your bun can see you.
Increase the frequency and length of car rides as necessary. In time, your bunny will most likely go from hunched and nervous and refusing to eat/drink during car rides, to more relaxed and willing to nibble on hay or snacks.
If you find yourself needing to take your bun on a longer or cross-country car trip, it’s important to budget time for frequent stops to check on your bun (once every few hours would be great, and your legs will thank you as well). Portable pop-up pens are great for giving your bunny a safe space in which to stretch, move around, use the litterbox, and eat/drink. They also come in handy if you need to overnight in a hotel along the way. Just make sure to pack a little thermal lunch bag with your bun’s favourite fresh greens and wet them thoroughly prior to feeding in order to reduce the risk of dehydration.
This isn’t a necessity, but it can help: spraying a bit of Pet Remedy in your car near the bun’s carrier can help calm him – and you.
The same basic principles of car travel can also be successfully applied to bus, train, or ferry travel – just make sure you adhere to any pet policies they may have.
Airplane Travel
If you are fortunate enough to find an airline that accepts bunnies in cabin, make sure you use a carrier that meets that airline’s requirements to the letter – don’t just believe the “airline approved” sticker. Also, book your ticket early and make sure that “pet” appears on your reservation so you don’t have any unpleasant surprises at the airport.
Unfortunately, if you plan to fly international with your bun, things get more complicated, because there are almost no airlines that will allow rabbits in cabin for international flights – the few that do like bunnies often have flights operated by alliance partner airlines that do not, and it’s the operating airline’s policies that apply, not the booking airline’s. So let’s say for example that Iceland Air allows rabbits in cabin – if the Iceland Air flight from the Middle East is operated by British Airways, which doesn’t allow rabbits on their planes at all, your bunny isn’t flying anywhere with your Iceland Air ticket.
The internet will tell you that hiring a professional pet shipper is the smartest thing you can do. This is a good option if it’s a local outfit that you can check out for yourself. If it’s not, we would not recommend it – shippers charge astronomical sums, are not all as good at their jobs as they claim to be, and they can’t guarantee greater safety for your bunny (even though most will promise it). Unfortunately, in some situations you will be forced to hire a pet shipper: if your bunny will be flying on a different flight or a completely different airline than you, expect to have to hire a shipper, in which case, research as much as you can, ask lots of questions, and demand referrals.
Let’s get started! First, you need to find out if your destination country will accept rabbits. Most will (with conditions). Some will not under any circumstances. Make sure either way!
Let’s say your destination allows the importation of rabbits; now you need to find an airline that transports rabbits in its cargo hold. Two reputable ones are Lufthansa and KLM. Both airlines handle large numbers of creatures every year – everything from bugs to giraffes. They serve zoos, wildlife reserves, bunny owners. They have special sections in their cargo holds just for animals; these are temperature controlled, lit, and sound proofed enough to be comfortable for even the most skittish of critters. Furthermore, their staff are trained in handling animal cargo and our floofs have access to safe facilities while in transit (in fact, the animal terminal at Frankfurt Airport is insanely cool; there are videos of it online, if you’re curious). There are other big airlines who transport animals, but their statistics are not comforting at all – too many mysterious deaths and other random mishaps.
Remember: book in advance and insist that your pet be mentioned in writing on your booking confirmation. And check that nothing has changed the week before you fly!
You will need an import permit from your destination country. The airlines demand to see it. Do your homework well in advance! Find out what the requirements for the importation of rabbits are. Find out what the permit application procedure is. It will probably seem overwhelmingly complicated. It is, until you actually start doing it… and then, if you focus on one step at a time, it’s doable. Not easy, but you’ve got this. Import permits are usually good for a few months, so if you can apply and obtain it at least a month in advance, it will give you peace of mind.
Before your trip (usually 10 days before the actual flight) you will also need to obtain an export permit from the country you are currently in. This involves a visit to your bunny’s vet for paperwork (often referred to as a pet passport) and it may also require a visit to a government vet for another document saying that your bunny can leave the country. Depending on where you are and where you’re going, your bun may need to be microchipped, or vaccinated, or examined to ensure he’s fit for travel, or all of the above, or none of the above. Also, prepare for the possibility of a mandatory quarantine. A number of countries allow the quarantine to be done in your destination home (subject to certain conditions) rather than in an impersonal animal quarantine facility. If you have that option, the authorities involved will give you a list of requirements that must be met and will then check in person that all is ready to their satisfaction prior to the arrival of the bun.
For the actual trip, you will need to get a travel crate that meets IATA requirements – this is the international organization that makes the rules all airlines must follow. Don’t let any airline or airport employee tell you that your bunny needs to travel in a livestock container made of wood and chicken wire. IATA clearly states in their regulations that you can use a hard plastic dog crate (like a Sky Kennel) as long as it’s modified a little bit. Get one big enough to allow your bunny to superman because he will not be let out for exercise like dogs and horses are. Make sure you replace the plastic and metal screws with all-metal ones (compatible hardware is readily available on Amazon), and have someone handy with tools cover the openings all around the kennel with metal mesh (pliable insect screen or hardware cloth should do the trick). This is so that your bunzilla doesn’t injure any handlers during transit. Seriously.
You will need to attach a plastic bag with copies of your bunny’s travel documents (keep hard and soft copies for yourself and the airline too), as well as your bun’s name, the airline name, the destination country, your mobile phone number, etc. to the top of the crate. A refillable-from-the-outside plastic water bowl will need to be secured to the inside of the door, and fresh veg or pellets in a plastic bag attached to the crate handle. Inside the crate, you can place a couple of layers of pee pads (masking tape loops on the underside will help them stay put) and a very thick bed of hay, as well as any veg that will travel well and offer hydration (like baby bell peppers). No toys are allowed, for safety reasons, but if you can sleep with a small fleece on your pillow for a few days before flying, and then put that in the crate, your scent will comfort your bunny. Finally, you will need to ziptie the crate corners and the door after you’ve gone through security – use quick-release plastic zip ties, not the kind that must be cut
IATA allows two bunnies in one crate, but the buns must weigh less than 14kg each and be roughly the same size. For unusual situations, contact the IATA for advice.
It’s worth noting that this entire process will be much, much simpler if you and your bunny are coming from the USA to Canada, or going from one EU country to another (or from any country that shares a treaty and a border with another country).
