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their own cremation. There is a substantial group, who feel that if the wishes of the survivors are contrary and cremation would be objectionable, the cremation should not occur even if so authorized. The provision suggested above is based on Section 65 of the Illinois Crematory Regulation Act, 410 ILCS 18/1 et seq. This section provides an option for the person making the preneed arrangement to limit the survivors’ rights to change the arrangement. Another factor is that many state laws presently do not clearly provide for the legal effect of a pre-need arrangement and there is serious concern about such an authorization even where there is no dispute. CANA’s board feels that these should be covered in a law so that the matter will be clear. The Florida legislature addresses the problem of the liability of a party acting on the wishes of a decedent in Section 732.804 of the Florida Statutes as follows: Provisions relating to Cremation. The fact that the cremation occurred pursuant to a provision of a will or any written contract signed by the decedent, in which he or she expressed the intent that his or her body be cremated, is a complete defense to a cause of action against the personal representative or person providing the services. Other laws may be enacted regarding preneed regulation, and this section should be reconciled or integrated with those laws. PART 13: MISCELLANEOUS This Act shall be construed and interpreted as a comprehensive cremation statute, and the provisions of this Act shall take precedence over any existing laws that govern dead human bodies and human remains that do not specifically address cremation. This Act shall be effective on ______, 20___. A Crematory Authority shall be permitted to employ a licensed funeral director for the purpose of arranging cremations with the general public, transporting human remains to the crematory, and processing all necessary paperwork. No aspect of this provision shall be construed to require a licensed funeral director to perform any functions not otherwise required by law to be performed by a licensed funeral director. Cremation Services upon the Death of a Companion Animal: Views of Service Providers and Service Users Anna Chur-Hansen, Anne Black, Amanda Gierasch, Alisa Pletneva, and Helen Winefield University of Adelaide, South Australia anna.churhansen@adelaide.edu.au Abstract There is no systematic research on the rites and rituals associated with companion animal death in modern Australian society. Three cremation service providers were interviewed and asked to consider which caretakers have their companion animals cremated. Seven people who had recently had a companion animal cremated were then asked about their views on the process. Five interrelated themes emerged from the two data sets about who uses cremation services for companion animals: “Everyone uses companion animal cremation services”; “People who consider the companion animal as a family member, as a child”; “People who want memorials for their companion animals”; “Grieving people”; and “People who seek compassion and social support.” With scant recognition of the impact of companion animal death and the role of rites and rituals in facilitating the grieving process, further research in the area is needed, including into attachment as a possible mediator. Keywords companion animal, grief, human-animal bond Introduction There is considerable literature concluding that for many people companion animals are family members (Podrazik, Shackford, Becker, & Heckert, 2000; Gage & Holcomb, 1991). Companion animals often serve as human substitutes (Morley & Fook, 2005), most notably as children. It is remarkable that, despite this, so little attention has been paid to the grief experienced when a companion animal dies (Sharkin & Knox, 2003; Wrobel & Dye, 2003). In Western cultures, mourning by adults for the loss of a companion animal tends to go unrecognized, and when it is noticed, it is generally considered undesirable or pathological (Morales, 1997). Death of a companion animal is usually not considered a significant loss (Toray, 2004), even though the animal A. Chur-Hansen et al. / Society & Animals 19 (2011) 248-260 249 was a significant other to the bereaved. Morley et al. (2005) argue that professional services have ignored the importance of the human-companion animal bond and have thus failed to address how best to support people grieving the loss of their companion animal. A specific area in which there is no systematic research is that of the rites (symbolizing the movement from one situation or state to another) and rituals (prescribed behavior) (Hendry, 1999) associated with companion animal death in modern society. Woods (2000) and Adams, Bonnett, and Meek (1999, 2000) argue that the absence of standardized funeral rituals for companion animals in Western cultures reinforces the notion that human-animal bonds are insignificant; this, they suggest, influences the grieving process. The literature on grief, bereavement, and loss of a companion animal originates primarily in the United States (Morley et al., 2005). This is important because, while some of these data can be generalized, there will be cultural variations. In Japan, for example, companion animals are considered members of the family, as they are in Western cultures (Kenney, 2004). Rites for
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