Pet Loss Professionals Alliance Releases Findings Of Inaugural Professional Survey
The Pet Loss Professionals Alliance (PLPA), a group of about 250 pet loss providers and related businesses, released the findings of its 2012 Pet Loss Profession Survey. This is the first such survey of the pet loss profession and what PLPA hopes will become an annual measure of breadth of the profession.
The survey was completed by 84 pet loss service providers in 26 states/regions and five countries. Of the respondents:
- 49 percent operate a funeral home/memorial center
- 34 percent operate a cemetery
- 77 percent operate an on-site crematory
- 4 percent offer hospice services
- 73 percent operate more than one of the above types of business
Based on SIC code listings from around the country, PLPA approximates that there are around 750 pet loss professionals in the United States. From this assumption and survey results, PLPA estimates that the U.S. figures for 2012 are:
- 1,861,776 pets were seen by pet loss businesses
- 20,811 were buried (1 percent)
- 1,840,965 were cremated (99 percent). Of those cremated:
- 513,926 (28 percent) were partitioned cremations (a physical separation was employed to keep commingling of ashes to a minimum)
- 907,536 (49 percent) were group cremations (several pets cremated at once using no means of physical separation)
- 419,503 (23 percent) were private cremations (one pet cremated at a time)
The survey results also contain statistics for each of the 26 states/regions in the U.S. and four other countries. Other information in the report includes annual revenue, size of staff, and how many respondents operate solely pet or pet and human businesses.
“The information in the report gives us a great opportunity to stand back and take a look at the size our industry,” said Bill Remkus, CPLP, PLPA Co-Chair and owner of Hinsdale Animal Cemetery & Crematory in Willowbrook, Ill.
“This is the first report of its kind. The number of responses will only grow in future years and will help us gain a better grasp as to the depth of our profession. But the detailed local statistics are invaluable in providing us a snapshot of our market share and opportunities for growth,” Remkus said.
Complete survey results are available to PLPA and ICCFA members only at www.myplpa.com.
Founded in 2009, the PLPA is dedicated to providing education and opportunities for professional growth for providers of pet-related death care services. It is a committee of the International Cemetery, Cremation and Funeral Association.
Founded in 1887, the International Cemetery, Cremation and Funeral Association is the only international trade association representing all segments of the cemetery, cremation, funeral and memorialization industry. Its membership is composed of more than 7,500 cemeteries, funeral homes, crematories, memorial designers and related businesses worldwide.
