Legislation to make it legal to have cremated pet remains buried with their owner advances from House Commerce. Minden Representative Wayne McMahen filed the legislation last year but pulled the bill after pushback from the Cemetery Association.
“I wasn’t trying to tell them how to do their business, I wanted them to craft the law and the regulations for their cemeteries, if they wanted to participate in this and give them the opportunity to or not to,” said McMahen.
The bill makes it legal to have cremated animals’ remains declared as personal property and it’s still up to each individual cemetery to allow the practice or not. Boyd Mothe of Mothe Funeral Homes opposes the legislation on the grounds that cemeteries are dedicated properties for human remains only and are considered sacred.
“They’ve been marketed, they’ve been sold, they’ve been promised to the people that have purchased and have laid their loved ones on our dedicated property,” said Mothe.
Despite opposition from Mothe, McMahen reminded committee members that each cemetery could opt to either allow pet remains or not, the bill only makes it no longer illegal to do so.
“There’s no, no mandate in here that any cemetery in this state has to do anything differently if they don’t want to,” said McMahen.
House Bill 248 passed without opposition and moves to the House floor.
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