Spain’s first public pet cemetery is now a fact in this city

It is not in Barcelona, even though the Catalan capital had promised to pioneer this public service in the country

It’s 2024 and Spain’s first public pet cemetery has opened its doors, just like it was promised. What’s different, however, is that this did not happen in Barcelona, which claimed to be working on providing such a municipal facility, but rather in the southern city of Malaga.

The capital of the Costa del Sol, in Andalucia, managed to overtake the Catalan capital in the race to provide a pioneering type of municipal service for pet owners. Pet cemeteries are not new in Spain as such; however, they have all been operated by private companies.

Local governments listening to residents

The new public service did not arise randomly and it’s in fact the fruit of a process to respond to residents’ growing needs and demands. Work on creating the public pet cemetery of Malaga began in 2016 and it’s taken 1.1 million euros to build it.

As far as the Andalusian region is concerned, the province of Malaga has the highest number of registered pets, according to official data. Malaga city alone has 110,000 and the trend is on the up. 

The pet cemetery is located in the northern part of the city’s Parque Cementerio (Parcemasa) (human cemetery); however, it will operate as a separate facility.

It will provide all the services offered at a human cemetery as well. This includes cremation, traditional burial (in niches or graves) or an organic urn. The building itself has a reception area, an administrative office, an office for veterinarians, an ashes delivery room, toilets and a wake room.

As for Barcelona’s pet cemetery, it is expected to be ready by the end of the year.