International travel with rabbits

Hi everyone,

I would like to immigrate from Sydney, Australia to Eugene, the United States of America, with my rabbits but I will only immigrate if its safe for them. The longest route of the trip will be 14 hours in the plane.

Can everyone tell me if they've traveled internationally by plane and for how long and whether their rabbits were alright? The animal carriers all say 'it'll be alright', one vet says 'they'll be fine', another says 'they won't last'. Any information would be very much appreciated.

Thanks

I'm no rabbit expert but have traveled with other pets. I feel sure the cargo hold temperatures would mean the end for them. If you kept a rabbit in a carrier under your seat, while far from ideal, I don't think they would face anything life threatening. It would likely be stressful for them though. Maybe the vet could recommend a mild sedative to make it less stressful? Hopefully some of the more experienced rabbit owners on here will have the right answers for you. Good luck!

I agree with Munha- under the seat would be best. Please make sure you do all of your research before immigrating to the US with pets- often there is a very long quarantine period once you arrive (most places require 6 months of not bringing your animals home) and many vet visits and such before and after immigration.

Good luck!! Welcome to the US when do you get here!

I guess it depends on the health of your rabbits, how skittish they are and, like the others said, what are the conditions of the travel. I really wouldn't chance the checked baggage cargo - the temperatures are often really high and cats and dogs are bound to be in the same space (in cages of course, but the stress would be terrible for the rabbits). Even in the cabin, that's a really long flight though. Honestly, I would be too scared to make my rabbits go through a 14 hours flight (especially since you can probably add about 4 hours of travel before and after the plane). I'm no expert but I noticed you find yourself really deshydrated during flights. I would expect it has the same effect on animals and that could be bad. Also, I don't know if that's true for all rabbits (probably not) but mine won't eat anything during travel (I travel by train and car with them twice a year, a 3 hours trip in total). Maybe I'm overly cautious, though. If you decide to go through with it, come back here to tell us how it went!