It will soon be possible to be buried with your pet in Flanders

It will soon be possible to be buried with your pet in Flanders, thanks to an amendment to the cemeteries decree approved by the Flemish Parliament on Wednesday. The amendment also puts an end to subsidies for new crematoria and will allow non-family members to take home the ashes of the deceased.

The amendment adapts the rules on cemeteries and funeral services. The most notable change will allow urns containing the ashes of previously deceased and cremated pets to be buried with their owner's grave. This is already possible in Wallonia.

"Many people suffer emotionally when their favourite pet dies," said MP Stephanie D'Hose on Wednesday. "To be able to share not only their life together, but also their final resting place, is a comfort to many people."

The amendment also ends subsidies for new crematoria, as the Flemish government believes there are currently enough crematoria to serve the entire region, and provides more options for people's last wishes, such as donating their bodies to science.

"To be able to share not only their life together, but also their final resting place, is a comfort to many people"

Finally, the right to take home a deceased person's ashes will no longer be restricted to blood relatives. "We are noticing that more and more people live alone and sometimes die without their immediate family," said Flemish Interior minister Gwendolyn Rutten. "In this case, it is often close friends who arrange the funeral."

The amendment is expected to come into force before the summer.

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