Weipa pet owners have come out swinging to the news they only have until 30 April to remove memorials from Dead Dog Beach before the township’s unofficial pet cemetery is destroyed as part of planned remediation work. Photo: Supplied.
A plan to remove memorials at Dead Dog Beach has been met with shock and anger by those with animals buried at Weipa’s unofficial pet cemetery.
Rio Tinto has announced that beach remediation work would begin at the Kerr Point Drive site in mid-2025, with pet owners given until 30 April to remove “pet memorial structures and rubbish”.
The popular beach, which is the resting place for hundreds of pets, is located on a mining lease within the Cook Shire Council boundary, with a Rio Tinto spokesperson telling Cape York Weekly the decision to remediate the spot was the result of consultation with Traditional Owners in a bid to protect an area of “diverse significance”.
“The memorials were erected in this area without authorisation from Cook Shire or Rio Tinto,” the spokesperson said.
“This is an area of diverse significance and Rio Tinto is committed to preserving these areas; since community concerns were raised over this area in 2020, Rio Tinto has been in ongoing consultation with the relevant Traditional Owners via the Western Cape Communities Co-Existence Agreement to assist in determining the most respectful and effective approach to this sensitive issue.”
The announcement has received dozens of negative comments on social media, but one pet owner, who asked not to be named, said while they were angry about the decision, they were more disappointed about the lack of an alternative being offered by Rio Tinto.
“I think it’s totally the wrong decision and very cruel to those of us with pets resting there, but I sort of understand why they’re doing it if it was never meant to be a pet cemetery,” they told Cape York Weekly.
“Most of the other people I’ve spoken to are outraged but the one thing they’re all saying is ‘what’s the plan now for people who want to bury their beloved pets?’”.
Cape Animal Protection Shelter president and Weipa’s 2025 Citizen of the Year Shayna Reeves, who also has a pet buried at Dead Dog Beach, echoed the sentiment and said the absence of an alternative could lead to “grave sites all around town”.
“We understand that it’s bushland, but I do think it is going to cause a lot of disruption, because people have laid their pets there to rest and still visit them,” she said.
“I don’t think it’s going to stop people burying them there; If they’re taking the land back, they need to be providing an alternative option … otherwise, you’re going to have grave sites all around town.
“I think during the wet season, when you’re not able to drive your pet out to be cremated, with all the new restrictions, it’s very hard to get them out so, you’ve got to be able to bury them somewhere.
“I think everyone has the right to lay their pets to rest peacefully.
“It’s going to be very devastating for people who have to go down and remove the memorabilia.”
Alngith Traditional Owner Ernest Madua Junior said the decision to remediate the beach had not been made lightly and left the door open to stakeholders identifying a more suitable location for a new pet cemetery.
“I think the issue is that people are just doing things on their own and not considering others or getting permission to bury dogs on Country,” he said.
“It’s not about us being upset about it, but we would appreciate getting the heads-up from the locals to ask.
“It’s all down the beachfront area; the last thing you want to stroll across is a pet cemetery with crosses everywhere – it’s not a good look.
“We’d like to ask people to consider not burying their pets there from now on [and] we’d like to consider an area that’s more appropriate and out of the way, out of sight.”
Dead Dog Beach will no longer show the crosses and other memorabilia of hundreds of beloved Weipa pets once remediation work commences. Photo: Supplied.
