More on declawing...

My friend Dolly and I are writing to Ross Mirkarimi and Chris Daly to see if they will support us by drafting some anti-declawing legislation. Apparently, West Hollywood is the only place in the country where it's illegal and we want to add San Francisco to the roster.

UPDATE: I was mistaken. West Hollywood passed legislation in 2003 but was sued in 2005 by a bunch of capitalist veterinarians who'd rather make a buck than not torture animals with senseless amputation. I'm not sure what the status of the legislation is now but I'll keep you posted on what I find out.

Maybe if we can get a law passed here and garner some publicity, more cities will join the fight to end this cruel and inhumane procedure.

"The Association of Veterinarians for Animal Rights is opposed to cosmetic surgeries and to those performed to correct 'vices.' Declawing generally is unacceptable because the suffering and disfigurement it causes is not offset by any benefits to the cat. Declawing is done strictly to provide convenience for people. The Association of Veterinarians for Animal Rights (AVAR)

Some veterinarians have argued that some people would have their cats killed if declawing was not an option. We should not, however, allow ourselves to taken 'emotional hostage' like this. If a person really would kill her or his cat in this case, it is reasonable to question the suitability of that person as a feline guardian, especially when there are millions of non-declawed cats living in harmony with people."

I'll keep you posted on our progress.

Here's a current list of the countries which have outlawed declawing:

England * Scotland * Wales * Northern Ireland * Germany * Austria * Switzerland * Norway * Sweden * Netherlands * Denmark * Finland * Brazil * Australia * New Zealand

I think the United States should join them.