The private sector has not shown much interest in developing a pet cemetery, Parliamentary Secretary for Animal Rights Clint Camilleri said on a programme on One TV this week, adding that the government may intervene. 

An electoral promise for a pet cemetery has been marred with problems, as the tender has been issued twice but only one offer was submitted, which was later retracted, Camilleri said.

Although the government intends to make good on its electoral promise, the pet cemetery will be combined with a rehoming centre where abandoned animals collected by Animal Welfare can be cared for and where the public can view them and adopt them, he continued.

The government could intervene and is not ruling out the option to enter into a partnership with NGOs, which would be interested in managing the pet cemetery in the context of a rehoming centre. 

In 2015, the Planning Authority gave the green light for a pet cemetery which would cater to over 11,000 animal memorials and would be sited at Ta' Qali. 

Then Parliamentary Secretary for Animal Rights Roderick Galdes, in 2016, said that the project would take up one tumuli of land in Ta'Qali, limits of Attard, close to the San Frangisk animal clinic. Following this, the operator which had submitted its offer later retracted it.

A petition was launched in 2017 asking for a pet cemetery to be built immediately. This petition has garnered over 7500 signatures. 

When asked about the timeframes for this new pet cemetery complex, Camilleri replied "At the moment we are deciding which land would be best to build this rehoming centre. There are planning constraints as well as other constraints. In the smallest possible space, the best possible use will be made to have these two centres next to each other..."