Victoria's environmental regulator has ordered a pet crematorium in the state's west to stop burying racehorses after its unlicensed landfill was found to be breaching environmental rules.
Bamganie Pets Cremation Service is situated in Lethbridge, 100 kilometres west of Melbourne.
Besides cremation, the company had been offering a "shared burial service" for pet owners where — as the ABC understands — the dead animals were placed in a large pit on the property.
Sources told the ABC that trucks had been taking dead horses and other animals to the rear of the property for years, to be buried in large pits without lining, and council and EPA documents show the previous landfill licence expired in 2011.
The ABC understands racehorses are among those to have been disposed of at the site.
In December, the ABC revealed the business had been operating without an Environment Protection Authority (EPA) landfill licence for a decade, prompting the regulator to investigate.
Now the EPA has ruled the dead animal waste being buried at the site needs to be buried at a "lawful place" under the Environment Protection Act.
"The burial site at Bamganie does not have the permissions required for this activity," an EPA spokesman said.
The environmental agency said it met with VetPartners, the owners of Bamganie Pets Cremation Service, who "indicated they would comply with the act by ceasing to accept animals for burial".
"EPA will maintain regulatory oversight of the closure and rehabilitation of the landfill," the spokesman said.
The service had advertised horse burials on its website, but that reference has now been removed, with pet and horse cremations the only service offered for pet owners, along with medical waste disposal.
VetPartners has been contacted for comment.
A number of equine vets endorsed by Racing Victoria have sent horses to be both cremated and buried at the facility.
Last year, Racing Victoria told the ABC it had asked its service providers to stop using Bamganie Pets Cremation Service while the EPA investigated.
Racing Victoria has been contacted for comment.
