Woman battles council to retrieve body of her beloved cat now classified as hazardous waste

A cat lover has been told she can not have her dead pet back by council refuse bosses because it is hazardous waste. Yasmine Khalid, 55, was devastated when her 11-year-old cat went missing from the family home in Whitefield, Greater Manchester, last Friday. Mrs Khalid spent the weekend searching for the long-haired Persian cat, named Sherekhan, and put up posters in an attempt to find him. She popped into her local hairdressers to ask if she could place a poster in the window and was informed by a staff member they saw a tomcat matching the description lying dead outside.



The worker said it appeared he had been hit by a car, but did not have any scratches or injuries and Bury council came to take him away. Mrs Khalid called Bury council to try and find out how she could get the body back, but was told by waste services they had only collected a grey tabby cat that day. She followed it up with an email and was then informed the council did pick up a long-haired ginger cat on Monday morning. The council passed on contact details for Viridor who are contracted to deal with waste management for the local authority.

But when she called up Viridor she was told he was placed in a red bag, which means he was hazardous to humans, and could only be retrieved by a third party contractor. Mrs Khalid said: “I said that is my cat I wanted him back I want to bury him in my garden. He is a family member, he is well loved and well cared for. He is an 11-year-old domestic long haired ginger cat with a fluffy coat, beautiful and bonnie.” She added: “They keep saying make sure you have your pet chipped so you can have them back but clearly this is not working. He was not a stray, he was a loved and cared for animal and he had his collar on him when he died.



“It is awful, my grandkids are crying because they loved him.” She said the cat had been with the family since he was a young kitten, and she is desperate to bury him in her backgarden with a ceremony her grandchildren can attend. A spokeswoman from Viridor said: “Unfortunately in circumstances as sensitive as these we still must abide by waste legislation which dictates that once the waste (now classified as hazardous clinical) enters our facility only licenced contractors can remove it off site for appropriate treatment. We appreciate that this is not the answer that Ms Khalid was hoping for and we pass on our condolences at this time.”