As the perception of pets as genuine family members rapidly spreads across China, the country’s pet funeral and aftercare industry is experiencing explosive growth. Moving far beyond basic cremation services, the market now features high-end, customized packages including limousine hearses, religious ceremonies, and memorial diamonds compressed from pet ashes.

According to data from Chinese corporate information platform Tianyancha, the number of pet funeral-related enterprises nationwide has reached approximately 43,600. In 2022 alone, 27,100 new businesses were registered—a nearly fivefold increase compared to the previous year. Industry analysts note that this momentum is fueled by China’s rising urban middle class and a shifting demographic landscape where younger generations increasingly rely on animal companionship. 

Service prices vary widely, ranging from 1,000 yuan to tens of thousands of yuan. Standard packages are widely available, but ultra-luxury offerings have captured public attention: a service where uniformed staff carry a casket and transport the pet in a limousine costs 9,880 yuan, while transforming cremated remains into a compressed keepsake gem can reach up to 18,000 yuan. Additionally, innovative digital memorials and livestream services are expanding quickly to offer remote grieving options.

Despite this commercial boom, the regulatory framework remains alarmingly inadequate. Responsibilities are fragmented across different government bodies—human funerals, animal carcass disposal, and crematorium environmental emissions are all managed by separate entities, leaving no single agency clearly accountable for the pet funeral sector.

This oversight vacuum has led to frequent consumer grievances. Incidents have surfaced where grieving owners paid for private cremations, only to discover their pets were cremated alongside other animals. Consequently, industry experts and consumers are strongly calling for standardized contracts that explicitly detail cremation methods, on-site viewing rights, and ash-delivery procedures, alongside stricter facility and service benchmarks to protect animal lovers.

[ⓒ Global Economic Times. 무단전재-재배포 금지]