The Association of Private Pet Cemeteries and Crematoria (APPCC) has welcomed some aspects of the Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA) final report on veterinary services for household pets but warned that the remedies remain incomplete unless they are accompanied by clearer service-definition standards for pet cremation.
The APPCC offered support for the report’s emphasis on clearer consumer choice, greater transparency in ownership, and the requirement that veterinary practices inform pet owners that they may arrange directly with a crematorium, as well as welcoming the requirement that cremation pricing be published and that owners receive clearer written information before making decisions.
However, the Association says that price transparency on its own is not enough if a variety of different services are considered as interchangeable, pointing out that, in practice, what is sold as an individual or communal cremation can vary significantly between providers in terms of handling, storage, transportation, the cremation process itself, and the final destination of the ashes. The APPCC maintained that the CMA failed to define “standards that distinguish respectful pet cremation from simple disposal”.
APPCC members work to a published consumer code that treats cremation as a complete bereavement service, and the Association is urging the CMA and policymakers to build on the final report by requiring clearer plain-English disclosures about how pets are handled, stored and transported, and whether a service is being sold as bereavement aftercare or as a disposal service, so that owners can compare like with like.
Director Kevin Spurgeon 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.”
