In this day and age, you know you're not meant to leave your baggage unattended in airports. Especially if there's a cute rabbit inside.
The bomb squad of the Australian Federal Police was called to Adelaide Airport on Wednesday after a pink Lorna Jane bag was left unattended in a female toilet.
But instead of holding dangerous items, the bag contained a young male dwarf rabbit wearing a red harness and no identification. Police called in rescue officers from the RSPCA, who took in the animal for safety.
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"This is the first job of this kind that I’ve come across in my 26 years of service with RSPCA," rescue officer Van Loenen said in a statement online.
"The young male rabbit is clearly very well socialised and cared for. He is even harness trained. The police had put him in a large box and gotten some carrots from Subway, so he had some fresh shredded carrot to munch on while they waited for me to arrive."
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The situation was an unusual one for police, who didn't take any risks when they received the call.
"We treat everything in the aviation space very seriously, but our bomb appraisal officers certainly weren’t expecting to find a rabbit in unattended baggage. Thankfully the rabbit is safe and well, and hopefully the owner will be found," AFP acting state manager Commander Brett McCann added.
The hunt is now on for the owner of the rabbit, and rescue officers have some theories to why they abandoned the animal.
"A couple of scenarios came to mind — his owner could have been leaving the country and knew by leaving their pet in a populated area he would be found and cared for. Or they may have been planning on smuggling him on board a plane, but backed out at the last minute," Van Loenen said.
For now, the rabbit has been given the name "Boeing" by RSPCA staff.
Topics Animals
