Pet cemeteries: where you can build them and how to register
Summary
The Environment Agency has updated guidance on pet cemeteries, setting out where they can be built, how they must be constructed, and the registration process with APHA. The guidance also clarifies planning permission requirements, burial depth and site conditions, and the rules for burying or spreading ash under a regulatory position statement in England and Wales.
Why it matters
Surveyors may encounter pet cemetery proposals in planning, land use, or environmental due diligence work, where compliance with siting, drainage, and burial requirements will be relevant. The update also highlights the need to distinguish between planning permission, environmental permitting, and APHA registration.
Key points
- Pet cemeteries require planning permission before construction.
- Sites must be registered with APHA using form AB117 before operating.
- Burial holes must be free of standing water and animals buried at least 0.5m below the surface.
- Only domestic pet carcasses may be buried; farm animals are excluded.
- Ash burial or spreading may be covered by an RPS in England and Wales, while Scotland requires a SEPA permit.
This is an RPSA summary of a publicly available article. The full content remains with the original publisher.
