Arizona state legislature is discussing the banning of cat declawing

The legislature of the US State of Arizona is discussing a possible ban on cat declawing. This is reported by Fox News online. They say that an Arizona House committee has approved a bill that would ban cat owners from declawing unless it was for genuinely therapeutic purposes i.e. in the best interests of the cat and for the benefit of the cat's health, which is hardly ever the case.

THERE IS A VIDEO FROM FOX NEWS AT THE BASE OF THE PAGE WHICH REPORTS ON THIS DEVELOPMENT IF YOU'D PREFER TO HEAR ABOUT THIS VISUALLY BUT THERE WILL BE ADVERTS.

The bill is called HB 2224. It provides for fines if any veterinarian performs the procedure unless it is for genuinely therapeutic purposes. A supporter of the bill or perhaps the proposer of the bill, Arizona State Representative Amish Shah, rightly said that: "With all the research and science that we have accumulated on this topic, it is cruel, it is mutilation, and it needs to stop."

The usual counterargument is presented by those who are against a ban, which is this: it is up to the veterinarian in consultation with the cat's owner to decide whether declawing should take place or not. This is a very, very poor argument because veterinarians sometimes actively promote cat declawing against the interests of the cat. They do it for monetary purposes. Therefore, you cannot rely on veterinarians to provide proper advice in line with their oath. Therefore, customers are prevented from making a wise decision as they are in the hands of their vets.

Poster by Ruth aka Kattaddorra.

As for cat owners, often they are indoctrinated with the idea that declawing is okay or that it is simply the removal of the 'nail' when it is actually a partial amputation of each toe. Veterinarians sometimes do not educate cat owners on the topic. They leave them blind and they pull the wool over their eyes. Once again, the purpose is to milk the system and make some money out of this operation which is described as barbaric by Britain's leading veterinarian and author, Dr. Bruce Fogle.

RELATED: Declawed cats pee seven times more often outside litter box than non-declawed cats.

Veterinarians have fought hammer and tong to avoid bans on declawing across the USA because it is a money stream. New York State is the only state in the USA that currently bans declawing. All praise to them. As I recall, there are nine cities, eight of which are in California, which have banned declawing. As I recall, the ninth is Denver.

Arizona State Representative Amish Shah. Pic in the public domain.

It is a slow and long fight to eliminate cat declawing from America. In North America, Canada is beating America hands down in gradually eliminating this operation from the country through piecemeal bans across various territories and provinces.

RELATED: The Paw Project Trash Colorado Veterinary Medical Association’s Defence of Declawing.

I would urge Arizona to press on with this and don't be sidetracked by the naysayers who don't understand cat welfare. Declawing is almost universally carried out at the convenience of the cat's owner for non-therapeutic reasons. It's is in direct conflict with the veterinarian's oath which they swear before they practice. It's extraordinary that it is allowed and that the AVMA does not criticise veterinarians who do it.

The oath of American veterinarians is utterly worthless and pointless. It's worse than that because it's a pretence. It gives the impression that the vets generally are concerned about animal welfare whereas they simply can't be if they declaw cats.

Note: This is a video from another website which is embedded here. Sometimes they are deleted at source which stops them working on this site. If that has happened, I apologise but I have no control over it.