Cat Declaw Ban Passes Assembly Panel

NEW JERSEY — A bill to ban the declawing of cats has passed the assembly and is on its way to making New Jersey the only state in the country to ban this practice.

The bill A3899 was sponsored by Assemblyman Troy Singleton (D-Burlington) and was passed by the assembly committee on Monday, according to nj.com.

"No person shall perform, or cause to be performed, an onychectomy (declawing) or flexor tendonectomy procedure by any means on a cat or other animal, unless the procedure is deemed necessary for a therapeutic purpose by a licensed veterinarian," according to the bill.

A veterinarian who fails to comply with the provisions of this section shall be subject to disciplinary action by the State Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners.

Additionally any person who violates this would be guilty of a disorderly persons offense, which is punishable by a fine of up to $1,000, a term of imprisonment of up to six months, or both. A violator would also be subject to a civil penalty of between $500 and $2,000, according to the bill.

"We are very happy and absolutely agree wholeheartedly with this bill,"Brian Bradshaw, Shelter Manager at the Somerset Regional Animal Shelter in Bridgewater. "We wee a lot of side affects of declawing."

Bradshaw noted the cats who have been declawed tend to experience from biting to litter box issues.

"We see cats coming in here that are more likely to bite when they are declawed, especially when they are adults, because they have no way of defending themself. And they have litter box issues, because their feet hurt so they don't want to scratch. Sometimes we even see veterinarians who do declawing, can really botch it up, sometimes with damaging different pieces of bone fragments."

However, not everyone is in favor of this bill.

The New Jersey Veterinary Medical Association (NJVMA), which represents 1,600 licensed doctors, fear this bill would lead to the increased euthanasia of unwanted cats.

"We're the professionals who care for cats and care for the people who love their cats," said Dr. Mike Yurkus of NJVMA. "We're not pro declawing, but we are anti-euthanasia. We want to see cats in loving households and not euthanized or relinquished to shelters where they are 72 percent more likely to be euthanized. We simply ask that you leave the declawing decision to doctors in consultation with their clients."

Bradshaw didn't believe the bill would negatively affect adoptions of cats.

"I don't think so, I think a lot of it has to do with education," Bradshaw said. "You don't have to have a cat declawed, there are other options."

(Image via Morguefile)

What do you think of the ban? Comment below or email alexis.tarrazi@patch.com.

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