‘Bury me with them’: animal-lovers want same cemetery plots as their pets

Hong Kong’s pet funeral service providers have urged the government to allow animal ashes to be placed alongside those of their owners, citing a growing demand for such arrangements amid a rapidly expanding afterlife market for furry friends.

Petmento, part of local group Sage laGreen Funeral Services, said it had been asking the government to relax regulations by allowing animal ashes to be placed in niches hosting the remains of their late owners.

“Now, many shopping centres are open to pets, and they will even be permitted to enter restaurants. But human niches are not yet open to their furry family members,” Wing Pun Hong-wing, Petmento’s co-founder and director, said.

“Many people of the newer generation will not have children, and pets will become their only families. Therefore, the funeral industry in Hong Kong should not only accommodate humans, but also pets.”

Pun said that he had seen a growing number of people inquiring at columbariums or cemeteries about whether they could place pet ashes alongside those of their late family members, with most being declined without any explanation.

He added that he had been reaching out to different government departments since last year, saying the matter remained the company’s priority.