Rising energy prices are also making pet cremation and burial more expensive. Most crematoria have increased their prices, said a spokeswoman for the Federal Association of Animal Undertakers. The high petrol prices also had an impact. “Our animal undertakers pick up the animals and sometimes drive long distances,” explained the spokeswoman. In some cases, the undertakers had therefore introduced an “energy price flat rate”. So far, customers have shown a lot of understanding for this.
Anyone who decides to have their dead pet cremated does not always have it buried in a pet cemetery. There is a trend that people take the urns home with the ashes – either to bury them in their own garden or to keep them in the house or apartment.
According to the association, there are at least 213 animal cemeteries nationwide where owners can have their dead dogs, cats, turtles, rodents or birds buried. However, the figures were from 2015. More recent data were not available because they were difficult to collect. On the one hand, not all operators are members of the association, and on the other hand, animal cemeteries have very different sponsors – municipalities, churches, forest administrations, animal crematoria or private operators.
However, the association assumes that the number of pet cemeteries has by no means decreased because more and more pets are being kept in Germany. “Accordingly, there is an increasing need for animal burial services,” said the spokeswoman.
