Chris Packham
Chris Packham wants his ashes interred with his pet Poodles Itchey& Scratchey
Earlier this month the BBC Springwatch presenter Chris Packham stated in an interview with the Dail Mail that he wants his ashes to be buried with those of his two pet poodles, Itchy – who died just before Christmas – and Scratchy, who is still alive.
He said: “Our ashes are going to get mixed together and thrown out in the woods in a favourite spot in the New Forest. I love them so much I want to be part of them and I want them to be part of me in this lifetime.”
Although Chris’s revelations made headlines and attracted the usual response from those people who simply just don’t understand how it feels when you love your pet. In his recent autobiography he talks openly about how his Poodles stopped him committed suicide. Why wouldn’t you want to keep their ashes with yours?
It also highlighted how much more popular the idea of burying or scattering your ashes with your pet’s ashes is becoming.
While 70 per cent of the UK’s pet cemeteries and crematoriums offer joint burial for animals and humans, traditional human burial grounds have been slow to allow pets to be buried or scattered with their owners.
Industry experts say this is most likely because operators do not want to upset non-pet lovers by laying pet remains to rest in the same place.
While an approved pet crematorium is allowed to scatter human ashes alongside pet ashes, a human burial ground needs an environmental permit from the Environment Agency to allow pet ashes or remains on the site.
The key point I’d like to make though is that if you want to have your ashes interred with your pet’s ashes you do need to make sure your feelings are known by close family or friends, if you have a will make sure you put it in there. Also make sure people know where the pet’s ashes are, it’s no good being really clear in a will but nobody knows where to find the ashes.
For the full article from Jane Oddy click here