Spain’s first public pet cemetery opens with grief help for homeowners

Beginning this week, it will likely be attainable to bury beloved pets in a public cemetery only for them.

Positioned in Málaga’s Parque Cementerio, this new facility is greater than only a resting place; it features a memorial park, crematorium, farewell corridor, an space for spreading ashes, and a burial zone for as much as 500 pets. Solely pets beneath 200 kilograms in weight shall be accepted.

There are different pet cemeteries in Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, and Zaragoza, however none of them are publicly owned just like the one in Malaga. Burying a pet in Spain might be difficult; doing so illegally can result in fines from €3,000 as much as €60,000.

In line with Juan Antonio de Luque, president of Málaga’s Faculty of Veterinarians, this launch is critical for the Andalusian province, house to over half one million pets.

“There are over half one million animals, together with canines, cats, ferrets, and different species, with 114,000 within the capital metropolis of Málaga alone. Beforehand, homeowners wishing to bury their pets needed to resort to personal cemeteries,” he informed Spanish newspaper El País.

Alongside cremation or burial, Malaga’s cemetery handles post-death paperwork like transporting deceased pets and updating registries. Much more distinctive is the psychological help supplied to homeowners by psychologists.

“The problem of demise is taboo for society typically, however the demise of animals is seen much more critically as a result of folks query whether or not the grief over shedding a canine or cat might be equated with that of shedding a human,”  director of the Animals and Society division at Rey Juan Carlos College Nuria Máximo informed El País.

“As we perceive that household pets are extra members, their caregivers expertise a part of that course of, that transition in direction of demise, and plenty of lack the monetary means to bury them as they might one other member of the family. Due to this fact, it is necessary to have public cemeteries, as they facilitate the grieving course of.”

The charges for the pet cemetery vary from €40 for a primary collective cremation to €975, relying on the service.

Building on the general public pet cemetery in Málaga began in 2016. It price €1.1 million to construct.