What Happens When You Bury an Animal?
Still don’t believe us? Let’s take a look at the scientific breakdown of the biological processes that take place when you bury an animal in the backyard.
A pet’s body begins to decompose several minutes after death. Bacteria in the digestive system begin to break down the intestines and spread to nearby internal organs and start to decompose them as well. Enzymes within individual cells start to break down cell structures.
After a few days, bacteria and insects continue to break down tissues and start releasing fluids into the pet’s body that cause bloating. This bacterial activity can release malodorous gases like:
In this stage, other animals can use the distinctive smells of the gases to find and uncover the remains of a buried pet.
Animal decomposition could take days or months. Numerous factors can affect decomposition time, including:
If you are going to try to bury your pet, here are a few things to keep in mind:
5 Reasons Burying Your Pet in Your Backyard Is a Bad Idea
Why not bury your pet in your backyard? Here are five reasons the practice is not a great idea:
If you bury your pet in your backyard, other neighborhood pets or wild animals may dig them up. As pets decompose, they emit gases other animals can smell. Some hunting dogs are specifically trained to find and communicate about items beneath the earth’s surface. When animals like dogs and foxes detect a buried pet, they will dig it up if they can.
Resurfacing becomes a particular issue if the pet had a contagious disease or received euthanasia. Euthanasia generally involves a concentrated anesthetic drug, pentobarbital, that can linger in a deceased pet’s body for up to a year. If another animal digs up your pet and comes into contact with the drug, it could become sick or die. And if your pet died of a contagious illness like parvovirus, that illness could infect other animals and spread through the neighborhood pet community.
If you bury a pet in your backyard, it may resurface after heavy rains. A pet that resurfaces in flooding can present the same health risks to other animals as the first point.
More importantly, seeing your late pet washed up after- or swept away during- floods could cause tremendous emotional distress.
A decomposing pet can cause bacterial contamination in the soil it touches. That contamination then seeps into the groundwater, which can spread it to other areas. If other humans or animals come into contact with the contaminated soil or water, they could become seriously ill.
Because of the health and safety issues outlined above, backyard pet burial is illegal in some cities and states. Check with local authorities to determine what regulations apply to you. If you bury a pet in violation of local ordinances, you could risk fines. And even if backyard burial is allowed in your state, regulations may govern how soon, how deep and how far from groundwater you must bury your pet.
A home burial, which may also be referred to as a backyard burial, is the standard pet burial option for those who want to handle disposing of their pet on their own . This is an inexpensive type of pet burial because it occurs on your own property and does not require outside assistance.
When you dig your pets grave, it should be approximately 2 feet deep in heavy soil and 3 feet deep if your soil is light or sandy. This will be deep enough to avoid attracting predators that will try to disturb the grave and still shallow enough to avoid interfering with buried utility lines. If you have any doubts about whether there are buried utility lines near where you want to dig your pets grave, call the utility company and check before you dig.
Burying your pet is a relatively common and low cost way to handle the disposal of your pets remains. It is generally recommended that pet owners bury pets in graves which are 2 feet to 3 feet deep, depending on the quality of soil in your area.
Jen Davis has been writing since 2004. She has served as a newspaper reporter and her freelance articles have appeared in magazines such as “Horses Incorporated,” “The Paisley Pony” and “Alabama Living.” Davis earned her Bachelor of Arts in communication with a concentration in journalism from Berry College in Rome, Ga.
If you are going to perform a home burial, it is best that you own the property you will be using to bury your pet. If you are on a rented property or want to bury your pet on a property that you do not own, then you need to check with the owner and get permission.