On the land adjoining the Voiron cemetery, the works of the next animal cemeterywhich should be delivered in April 2025, have started. This is an independent space which will be set up to accommodate the remains of the petsand where can come and collect their owners.
Voiron: the department’s first animal cemetery will open in the spring
It will be about first place of its kind in the department. “It was a promise of the 2020 municipal campaign, explains the mayor, Julien Polat. Firstly because many of us in the team have a personal sensitivity towards the animal cause, and towards companion animals. Then, because the phenomenon of loneliness is more and more significant. Furthermore, with the aging of the population, more and more people are ending their lives alone at home, and the presence of an animal helps to provide affection. Losing the animal is a challenge, and when you live in the city and don't have a garden, it's difficult to think about it.”
The space will be very largely landscaped and planted with vegetation. “Seen from the sky, it will have the shape of a tree. The paths will lead to islets, themselves organized around a majestic tree. All these tall trees will be of different species. The concessions will be arranged around them, in a circle “.
150 funeral plots with a duration of five years will be available. The cemetery will also host a memorial garden for people who have chosen to cremate their animal, and who wish to distribute the ashes there. “It will be decorated with a statue of a tree, on which we can hang a medal in the shape of a leaf, with the name and dates of the animal.” The place will also house a columbarium for funeral urns.
In the center of the cemetery, there will be a space for deserving animals, namely assistance dogs for disabled people, rescue dogs, police dogs, etc. “These animals which provide services of general interest to the community should also benefit from advantageous financial conditions.”
A cemetery for animals: open to all Isère residents, but differentiated price scales
On social networks, the project seems to be well received by residents. Even if this enthusiasm is not yet a guarantee of success for the mayor of Voiron.
“We know that it meets needs, and people feel concerned. But we cannot know if people will just be enthusiastic or if they will take the step of putting the remains of an animal there. Hence our desire to be open to all the inhabitants of Isère. If, however, we were to be victims of our success, we could then restrict access to the inhabitants of the Pays Voironnais, or to the Voironnais.”
THE Prices will be voted on in municipal council at the beginning of 2025. The scale will be different depending on the service chosen by the owner. In addition, the council should confirm that the Prices will be different for Voironnais and for non-Voironnais. “The burial in the ground will be more expensive than the columbarium, which will be more expensive than the garden of remembrance. The concession should be 150 euros for five years for the residents of Voiron. Double that for the exteriors. So that the solution is accessible there including those who have little means, we are moving towards a price of 50 euros for the garden of remembrance.”
350,000 euros for the animal cemetery and parking
For this animal cemetery whoseinvestment amounts to 350,000 euros, the City of Voiron received a subsidy from the Department up to 10%.
“The City already owned the land. The majority of these 350,000 euros will go towards the development of the cemetery, but also the creation of a 20-space car park, which will also serve the human cemetery, for which the parking has been a problem for a long time.
All animals weighing less than 40 kilos can be buried, the law prohibiting for health reasons, this practice for heavier animals, which must be cremated. “Another exception: for reptiles, we will need a death certificate issued by a veterinarian, due to the fact that they can enter a phase of lethargy which sometimes makes it difficult to certify death.”
