Almost 39 million households own a cat in the United States, and now the state of New York is aiming to protect America’s furry friends.
Lawmakers and animal rights activists met last week in Albany to discuss passing a bill that will make New York the first state to ban the declawing of cats.
This bill, sponsored by Assembly member Linda Rosenthal, pushes to outlaw the declawing of cats unless medically necessary.
Rosenthal believes that the majority of de-clawing cases are performed as a convenience to owners who do not understand the severe health risks associated with this procedure.
The declawing surgery requires cutting through bone, tendon, ligaments, and nerves in order to amputate the first segment of a cat’s toe. Many compare it to cutting off a human’s finger at its first joint.
As reported in the Democrat and Chronicle, Rosenthal explains that this procedure is more than just removing the nails. She stated “For humans not to respect the integrity of the animal and the animal’s body is criminal. However, it’s still allowed, it’s an option, and that’s why we aim to make it illegal.”
But, the New York State Veterinary Medical Society opposes the bill.
The society wrote a memo to the legislation earlier this month detailing that declawing a cat is the only known method that will cure a cat’s destructive clawing. The procedure is only recommended when other efforts have failed, and in many cases it saves cats from euthanasia.
In addition, they argue that the decision to declaw should be made by medical professionals, not state lawmakers.
Even amidst the controversy, Rosenthal says support is growing from cat owners who are educating themselves on the procedure.
The bill has been introduced by both the Senate and the Assembly, but there is no vote scheduled so far.
The cities of Los Angeles, San Francisco, Santa Monica along with the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand have outlawed the declawing of cats as a whole.
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