Pet funerals still in law's blind spot

The pet funeral industry is mushrooming. According to a white paper released by IResearch Consulting, the scale of China's pet market reached 300 billion yuan ($47.12 billion) in 2020, and is expected to reach 445.6 billion yuan in 2023. According to the national industrial and commercial registration inquiry system, around 9,000 enterprises in China are conducting harmless animal treatment, and more than 1,400 enterprises operating pet funeral services.

In the past, pet remains were dumped, buried or cremated. However, abandonment violates the law on animal epidemic prevention, which stipulates that any unit and individual shall not trade, process and randomly abandon carcasses. The regulations have specific requirements for burying carcasses, including burial depth and disinfection, which has helped the emergence of the pet funeral industry.

However, as a new thing, pet funeral falls in the legal and regulatory "blind area". Pet funeral services involve civil affairs, agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry, environmental protection, market supervision and other departments, but so far there are no clear regulations to regulate pet funeral services.

The relevant regulations stress the centralized harmless treatment of animals, necessitating the need for animal epidemic prevention certificates. However, at present, the examination and approval threshold is high and the process cumbersome.

The lack of industrial standards is another issue. As pet mortician is not listed as a formal profession, there is no unified professional qualification training and certification. There exist huge price differences among different pet funeral services providers, some of which dispose of the pets' remains privately and mix up ashes while handing them over to the pet owners.

Relevant departments should pay attention to the pet funeral industry and clarify laws and standards as soon as possible. Relevant regulations should first be issued to give the pet funeral industry a legal identity and bring it under supervision. Industrial standards should also be formulated to regulate prices and services, and green funerals such as burials should be promoted to reduce environmental damage.