Being buried with your pet: soon a reality?

He spent his life by our side, so why not eternity? With their bill on Wednesday, February 9, some thirty deputies want to allow pet owners to be buried near their companion’s urn.

In France, one in two families lives with a pet. That is, if we are attached to it. These animals often occupy a central place in daily life. For many, they are truly part of the family. The bill by Loïc Dombreval (LREM) and co-signed by 27 deputies from all sides would therefore make it possible to put these animals back in their place even after their death.

The idea is to allow owners who have expressly requested this during their lifetime to be buried in the cemetery with their companion. For example, the urn of the deceased animal could be stored directly in the coffin before being buried.

“Today you can put an object, your wife’s photo, a wedding ring in your coffin. I am adjusting the law a bit because the relationship with the animal has completely changed.”underlines Loïc Dombreval, the chairman of the parliamentary study group on animal disease, to AFP.

Great symbolic value”

The elected official says this bill is inspired “from the sad story of an old lady in Gironde who wanted the urn of her animals in her coffin and it was refused.”

“Today, for reasons of dignity, it is illegal by law to rest with your pet, much less to have the animal’s name written on your tombstone. † For the chosen one it’s just “unworthy not to respect the last wishes of a deceased” mainly “when we know the attachment that can exist between an elderly person and his pet”

However, if the text of the law does not provide for the animal’s name on the headstone, the cremated masters will be able to rest with their pet’s ashes in an animal cemetery. As surprising as it is, the practice is already legal in Switzerland, Germany and the United Kingdom.

In principle, this law has: “great symbolic value” concludes Loïc Dombreval. “It’s consistent with the relationship between humans and their pets.† †

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