Burying your dead pet in a loving ceremony might seem preferable to dumping it in a rubbish bin - but to the government each way is equally wrong.
According to a survey, more than a third of owners whose pets have died risk prosecution by illegally disposing of the carcasses.
Half do the right thing by taking the body to a government collection point, a veterinarian or the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. The rest get it only half right, by taking the remains to a collection point but failing to inform the officer in charge.
The poll, by My Pet magazine last month and this month, found widespread confusion about what to do with a dead pet, with two-thirds saying they lacked relevant knowledge and all but 5 per cent calling on the government to publicise more information.
The survey of 546 owners whose pets had died found that about 90 per cent still missed their animals, with more than 60 per cent wanting to set up memorials for them, such as a shrine at home or even a website.
My Pet chief editor Tang Kwai-sim said pet owners could be fined for failing to handle pet carcasses properly under the relevant legislation. She said dumping the bodies in rubbish bins or burying them posed a serious threat to public hygiene.
Of the respondents, 25 per cent said they dumped the carcass and 12 per cent said they buried it.
