San Francisco Votes to Ban Cat Declawing

[LDG]

Originally Posted by strange_wings

One thing: I'd like to see the vets who declaw without it being a medical necessity to be fined and disciplined, too. That, more than trying to scare pet owners, will stop it.


I do wonder, though - Will people that move to the area with previously declawed cats or take in a declawed cat from the street/friend/family, etc that do not have documentation proving that they didn't order the declaw themselves be fined when they take their cats to the vet and it's noted that the cat is declawed? There would be no way to prove that these people didn't actually take the cat to a vet in another county and declaw it - they could even get the cat's vet care done under a different name so that looking them up wouldn't be possible.

I don't know how the problem of already-declawed cats is addressed, but the law as proposed includes potential 6 months in jail or $1,000 fine for people who circumvent the law by going someplace else to have it done but live in San Fran. I haven't seen what happens to vets who perform non-medical necessity declaws.

[mews2much]

That is great.
I hope the whole state does it.

[white cat lover]

Originally Posted by LDG

but the law as proposed includes potential 6 months in jail or $1,000 fine for people who circumvent the law by going someplace else to have it done but live in San Fran.

This is what I was wondering on! So they can't just go outside city limits & get it done.

From the standpoint of the humane society, I'd be worried about loosing adoptions because people can't delcaw their new family member. I know many won't understand that - and I don't want to hear any bashing on it. There are some people who are thicker than cowhide when it comes to trying to educate on declawing.

That said - I wish there was a way to viably ban declawing in rural areas if this spreads - those in countries where it is illegal - how do they enforce a ban on declawing in rural areas? Or are there just no vets who will declaw as the ban has been in effect for so long?

[Willowy]

As I understand it, de-clawing has NEVER been legal in the other countries. So I think it's just not considered to be a valid option by an average vet, or by the average pet owner. They just aren't used to the idea. I'm sure there are underground vets you could find who would do it, but I'd say that in general, the vets just won't consider it. I'm sure they'd lose their licenses if found out, too, so that's an added deterrent. Professional peer pressure is a big factor, too. If none of your peers are doing it, chances are you won't either.

One problem is, Americans are VERY bad about illegal activities. No matter what it is that's banned, Americans will find a way around it. So I don't know how a ban will work out in this country. Worth a try, of course, but I can only see it as having limited effectiveness. We're stubborn .

[missymotus]

Originally Posted by Willowy

As I understand it, de-clawing has NEVER been legal in the other countries.

Exactly, not only is it not offered by vets, but most people don't even know what declawing is. Cats come with claws, end of story.

I only know about declawing because of this site.

I hope the ban spreads, so the US can catch up with other countries against this cruel act.

[LDG]

The REALLY sad thing is Gov Schwarzenegger signed a bill into law that effective Jan 1, 2010, CA municipalities will no longer be allowed to pass this type of legislation.

[xocats]

Originally Posted by LDG

The REALLY sad thing is Gov Schwarzenegger signed a bill into law that effective Jan 1, 2010, CA municipalities will no longer be allowed to pass this type of legislation.

That's terrible.

[cjh27]

Originally Posted by white cat lover

From the standpoint of the humane society, I'd be worried about loosing adoptions because people can't delcaw their new family member. I know many won't understand that - and I don't want to hear any bashing on it. There are some people who are thicker than cowhide when it comes to trying to educate on declawing.?

I definately see where you're coming from- but it has to start somewhere and sometime.

Originally Posted by white cat lover

That said - I wish there was a way to viably ban declawing in rural areas if this spreads - those in countries where it is illegal - how do they enforce a ban on declawing in rural areas? Or are there just no vets who will declaw as the ban has been in effect for so long?

The ban on declawing isn't enforced here because there's no need to. I've never seen a declawed cat despite the fact I use to do voluntary work at a local shelter for several years which will house 500 cats at peak times. Vets simply don't declaw and pet owners don't even know what this is. Same goes for debarking, by the way.

The very few declawed cats you'll find here have been imported from America or other countries by their owners or by a humane society who is bringing cats into Germany for rehoming, in which case you'll find them in the disabled section of the rehoming websites.

The German forum I usually write at is about the same size as this forum and has 1,8 million post with ca 2 000 active members- not one of them ownes a declawed cat as far as I'm aware of. You'll probably find this hard to believe- but we don't even have soft claws here, either. Soft claws are not sold here (or even over German websites) and are virtually unknown of.

regards,

Christine

[Willowy]

Yup, I lived in Japan for 9 years (my dad was in the Navy), and when our kitties were 6 months old, we told our Japanese friends that we were having them spayed.....OK, they understood that---can't have too many kittens, although it seemed that spaying wasn't too common over there. A lot of males we saw were neutered, but spaying wasn't common.

Then we told them that we had the option of having the cats' claws removed at the same time but had decided against it, and they were HORRIFIED!!! Not that we had decided against it, of course, but that it was even an option. I don't think de-clawing is illegal in Japan, but obviously it's pretty much unheard of and frowned upon. Or at least it was 20 years ago.

Really it's all about the vets. You can't control what individual pet owners do (at least not effectively), but you can control what vets do, through regulatory agencies and laws. And if fewer of them offered de-claws, or at least tried to discourage de-clawing, that would do the most good.

[missymotus]

Originally Posted by cjh27

You'll probably find this hard to believe- but we don't even have soft claws here, either. Soft claws are not sold here (or even over German websites) and are virtually unknown of

I forgot about soft claws, they are not available over here either. I guess because they are marketed as a declawing alternative there is no demand for them here.

[Willowy]

Aww, Soft Claws are fun! You'd think they'd be marketed there as a "treatment" for cats that scratch things they shouldn't, but of course not as a de-clawing alternative. I saw a show on Animal Planet where a family in England hired a cat behaviorist because their cat was scratching inappropriately, they had tried everything, nothing worked, and they didn't want to make him live outside. They probably would have been grateful for Soft Claws.

The REALLY sad thing is Gov Schwarzenegger signed a bill into law that effective Jan 1, 2010, CA municipalities will no longer be allowed to pass this type of legislation.

What kind of legislation? Only anti-declawing initiatives, or any kind of pet-related restrictions? It would be nice if BSL was disallowed. And restrictions on the number of pets allowed.

[LDG]

I don't know the answer to that question - I just know it's been mentioned in several articles that effective Jan 1, "this type" of legislation cannot be passed by municipalities.