A bill to make it legal for your cremated pet to be buried with you will be heard in House Commerce Monday. Former veterinarian and Minden Representative Wayne McMahen admitted he didn’t know it was illegal to have nonhuman remains interred with humans in Louisiana.
“I think it’s something that’s being done across the state now, kind of on the sly. I want to try to make it where it’s legal to include pet cremated remains as personal property in a burial,” said McMahen.
McMahen said the bill doesn’t mandate that cemeteries allow pets to be buried with their owners; it only makes it legal to do so. Each cemetery would have its own policy and decide if the practice was permitted or not.
“Cemeteries can promulgate their own rules of how that’s done. Cemeteries Association and Board have asked me to amend it, to make it strictly cremated remains of pets,” said McMahen.
It’s permissible to have personal property buried with humans, things like photos, jewelry, letters, or even Bibles. McMahen said for pet lovers having the option is extremely meaningful.
“The cremated remains are a very sentimental thing to a lot of people. I don’t really see a downside to it from what I can see,” said McMahen.
House Bill 248 prohibits a pet owner from euthanizing a pet without a medical need for the purpose of having the pet buried at the owner’s death.
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