Can You Legally Bury Family Pets in Your Yard in Idaho?

The question comes up pretty often in Idaho regarding the proper care that needs to be taken when a beloved pet passes away.

There are a variety of options for burial or disposal of the deceased family pet, but not all of them are legal. You’re still fine to flush the dead goldfish down the toilet, but you may need to think twice about burying your St. Bernard in the backyard.

Is it Legal to Bury Pets in a Backyard in Idaho?

I’ll admit that I’ve had pets pass away and didn’t think twice about digging a hole in the backyard and burying them. That’s what we did growing up, so why would I think it was an issue? Well, there’s good news and bad news for pet lovers in Idaho, and it really depends on what kind of pet you have and how big they are.

A few years ago, my neighbor had a cow die, and they placed the body by the side of the road for a disposal crew to pick up. It was kind of gross, but that was the proper thing to do.

In Idaho, you can bury your house pet wherever you want on your property if it weighs less than 100 pounds. Cats in the flower bed and small dogs under the tree are OK.

But if your pet is a cow, a horse, a big dog, or a really big cat weighing over 100 pounds, you have to take extra steps to follow the law.

Where Can I Bury My Dead Pets in Idaho?

To bury a large pet on your property, you have to have enough room to follow the following regulations:

• Every part of the animal is buried under 3 feet of dirt.
• At least 300 feet from any underground water supply or spring and 200 feet from any surface water lake, river, or pond.
• 50 feet from property lines.
• 300 feet from residences.
• 100 feet from public roadways.

So, unless you have a good-sized plot of land, you’ll have to take your large pets to an appropriate dead animal pit, rendering facility, or incinerator.

One other option is to let nature take care of the animal. If the animal died on your property (naturally and not from an infectious disease) and is at least a quarter mile away from water, public roads, or neighbor residences, you can leave the animal alone and let decomposition do its job.

READ MORE: Can You Legally Eat Road Kill In Idaho?

Decomposition may not be a good choice, and it would be good to let any neighbors know what’s happening since wind is common in Idaho, and that smell will blow around.