France cuts funding for pet burials

PARIS, Sept 30 (AFP) – Pet owners in France will from Saturday have to pay up to EUR 150 euros to have their dead animals’ remains taken away for cremation if they do not bury them themselves in their gardens under a change in the law.

Previously the cost was carried by the state, but under the new rules only deceased farm animals, abandoned pets in shelters and horses and ponies in racing areas or training centres will continued to be collected at tax-payers’ expense, according to a decree published in the official government gazette this week.

SIFO, the federation of French animal industries which represents the companies responsible for taking away animal bodies, said the service cost the government 500 million euros last year.

During that period, four million animals were picked up, nearly half of which were dogs and cats.

It added that, before the new regulation, 60 percent of owners opted to bury their pets themselves, leaving 40 percent to be handled by its member companies under government contract.

France counts some 10 million cats and nine million dogs, giving it one of the highest rates of pet ownership per capita in the world.

Subject: French news