Trade body deems CMA pet cremation findings insufficient

The Association of Private Pet Cemeteries and Crematoria (APPCC) has welcomed parts of the Competition and Market Authority’s (CMA) report on the UK veterinary sector, but has warned that the government body’s reforms do not outline the criteria that separate dignified pet cremation from basic disposal.

The pet cremation trade body endorses the importance the report places on informed consumer choice, increased transparency in service ownership and the obligation by veterinary practices to inform pet owners that they may arrange directly with a crematorium.

It also supported the requirement to make cremation prices public and to provide owners with clearer written information before they make decisions.

However, the APPCC said that price transparency alone is insufficient if the market continues to regard fundamentally different cremation services as interchangeable when, in practice, services marketed as individual or communicable creations can differ widely between providers in how pets are handled, stored and transported, along with in the cremation process and the ultimate destination of the ashes.

APPCC members adhere to a published consumer code that regards cremation as a holistic bereavement service, not solely a disposal process.

It said that without stronger definitions and greater transparency, owners experiencing loss may think they are comparing similar services when they are not.

The organisation has encouraged the CMA and policymakers to expand on the final report by mandating written disclosures about how pets are handled, stored and transported, what individual cremation and communal cremation look like in effect, disclosure on where communal ashes go and a clear distinction between “respectful cremation services and basic disposal services”.

It is also urging the CMA to clarify what individual cremation and communal cremations look like in effect and acknowledgement of industry standards that apply to dignity, care and consumer protection.

Kevin Spurgeon, director of the APPCC, said: “Price transparency alone does not protect grieving pet owners, because price says nothing about the standard or nature of the service being provided. Services described in similar terms may differ greatly in collection times, handling, transport, cremation process and the final resting place of ashes. Those differences matter enormously to families, and they should be explained clearly before any decision is made.”