Providing compassionate care for London's pet owners

Lambeth Council's Greater London Pet Crematorium serves London's vast population of pet owners, offering dignified and compassionate services to bereaved families across the city.  

Established in response to the shortage of nearby burial spaces, with the closest pet crematorium located 21 miles outside of London, the facility ensures that residents have access to respectful, local end-of-life care for their animals.  

With 46% of households in London owning at least one dog, and one in five without access to a garden, the vast majority of pet owners have no option to privately lay their pets to rest. To add to this, veterinary crematoriums are often costly with prices ranging from £280 to £400.  

Lambeth Council's Greater London Pet Crematorium offers a compassionate alternative to expensive private cremations, capping prices at £248 and providing a range of services  to support bereaved families through the process. The Crematorium offers collection and care of the pet, chapel ceremonies, ash scattering and dedicated memorial services, allowing owners to honour their pets as cherished family members. Aside from the production of memorial items, all services are provided entirely in-house by the Crematorium's dedicated team of bereavement professionals.  

In addition to providing compassionate services for families, the Crematorium also generates income for the council whilst keeping the environmental impact of the service to a minimum. The pet cremator requires 40% less fuel than the majority of competitors on the market and is housed in a previously underused chapel at Streatham Cemetery. The building now hosts the cremator, and family services for pet funerals, achieving profits of roughly 60% per cremation. The facility maximises existing amenities available to other mourners, giving pet-owners access to comfortable waiting rooms, choice of music and tributes and the use of a non-denominational chapel to support a range of belief systems.  

By transforming an underused chapel building, responding to the rising demand for pet cremations and offering a compassionate service for families, Lambeth Council's Greater London Pet Crematorium has created a service that meets the needs of modern urban communities.