The commonwealth of Virginia regulates pet burial and disposal.
The death of a pet is traumatic enough without discovering you’ve run afoul of ordinances that regulate pet burial and pet cemeteries during your grieving period. Although the commonwealth of Virginia regulates pet cemeteries and charges owners of dead pets and livestock with disposing of the animal’s body, a lot of leeway is granted to the methods required.
Burial and Cremation of Animals
Commonwealth of Virginia Code 3.2-6554 and 18.2-510 require owners of animals to dispose of their bodies when they die. Owners may opt to cremate or bury the animal, with no regulations concerning burial depth or gravesite locations. If you fail to attend to the body of an animal, an official may cremate the animal and charge the owner for the service. Failure to comply with 18.2-510, which is intended to apply to farm animals instead of companion animals, is a Class 4 misdemeanor.
Declaring Use for a Pet Cemetery
Virginia Code 57-39.21 requires landowners who intend to use a parcel of land as a pet cemetery to file a land use declaration with the circuit court stating those intentions. Once a declaration is on file, the land must be used as a pet cemetery unless it is removed.
Perpetual Care Trusts
Virginia Code 57-39.22 prohibits operators of pet cemeteries from billing them as a perpetual-care resting place unless the operator set aside funds to adequately ensure perpetual care. Before any pets are interred in a perpetual-care pet cemetery, the operator must permanently place at least $12,000 in an irrevocable trust with the commonwealth. Money generated from this trust will be solely used for pet cemetery upkeep.
Closing and Moving Pet Cemeteries
If an owner of a pet cemetery wishes to remove the restriction on the land used for the cemetery for development or other use, Virginia Code 57-39.24 requires he contact the owner of each pet buried in the cemetery to give them the option to reinter or move their pet’s remains to a different location; removal and reinternment is the responsibility of the cemetery operator, who must provide written proof to owners once the job is finished.
Tags: Virginia Code, Code 57-39, used cemetery, Virginia Code 57-39, 57-39 requires