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Bereaved pet owners encouraged to cremate
By Cheng Anqi (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2010-04-22 14:08
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To pet owners, the death of their beloved dog or cat is a very sad occasion indeed. However, along with such tragedy comes the inevitable choice about how to deal with the pet's body.
Most pet owners in Haikou, South China's Hainan province, hope to deal with the dead bodies of their pets in a proper way. When convenience as well as the environment are considered, low-carbon cremation might be the best choice.
"An increasingly large number of pets in Hainan are causing environmental problems. Soil and water will be seriously polluted if bodies of animals are poisoned," said Wu Qing, vice president of the Hainan Small Animal Protection Association (SAPA).
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Managed with medications, each body is spread with quicklime and sealed in a wooden box. "Such burial will not interfere with land use but prevents potential secondary pollution," Wu noted.
However, more space for dead pets is badly needed in Haikou. There are approximately 60,000 pets in Haikou city, 5 percent of which die every year. Most were buried, and a few were sent off with a high-priced cremation.
An inquiry at a pet shop or pet hospital about quotes for animal funeral services, however, will reveal startlingly high prices. Take a Labrador dog, for example.
In a pet hospital in Haikou, a group cremation costs 200 yuan ($24.8) for each pet, while an individual cremation costs 500 yuan ($73.1).
If pet owners wish to take the ashes home, they must either bring their own urn or buy one at the hospital for about 300 to 400 yuan.
"The operation of pet funerals just started in China a decade ago and is still lagging well behind international standards, especially pet cremation," said Wu, who added that another 20 mu (1.2 hectare) of land will be tapped in June for a crematorium and walls for preserving pets' ashes.
