Definitions of After Death Services for Companion Animals: International Code
This code has been developed by The Association of Private Pet Cemeteries & Crematoria to ensure that pet owners clearly understand the services to which they agree for the after death care of their pets. The code encompasses all after death services that may be available. The Association is only concerned with standards for those described as cremation or burial.
Where a service is described as cremation or burial it will encompass three key points:
1. the sympathetic handling of the pet at all times.
2. the burial or cremation carried out according to the legal requirements of the country.
3. the committal of the body or the ashes to a particular area intended for that purpose or, in the case of cremation, the return of the ashes to the owner.
Inventory of Services
Most pet owners would regard a service described as Cremation or Burial to encompass three main points:
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1. INDIVIDUAL BURIAL Pets will be buried with care within a distinct plot in a pet cemetery that may be visited by the owner. |
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2. INDIVIDUAL CREMATION Pets will be handled with care on their own and cremated singly within the cremation chamber. All ashes will be carefully recovered from the chamber for return or dispersal over a known area. |
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3. COMMUNAL BURIAL A simple burial system with no distinct plot. Burial will be made with care and take place within the confines of a known area intended for that purpose. |
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4. COMMUNAL CREMATION Pets will be handled with care and cremated together with no separation. The ashes will be buried or scattered over a known area intended for that purpose. No ash will be returned to pet owners. |
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5. COMMUNAL CREMATION WITH SEPARATION OF ASHES Several pets will be paced with care into the cremation chamber with some form of separation. At the end of the cremation period the ashes will be removed one at a time. A certain amount of mixing of ashes may occur. |
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6. DISPOSAL BY INCINERATION A standard waste disposal operation in line with current legislation with no special handling. Ashes will be disposed of at a licenced waste site. |
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7. DISPOSAL BY LANDFILL A standard waste disposal operation in line with current legislation with no special handling. Bodies will be disposed of at a licenced waste site |
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8. RE-PROCESSING Bodies will be used for industrial or commercial purposes such as furs, fertiliser or animal feeds. |
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