by Michael (PoC Admin)
(London, UK)
A great Campaign - Shame on the Declawing Vets
The declawing bans should worry American veterinarians because it could be the thin edge of the wedge that gradually erodes what they would consider to be their sacred right to make decisions in respect of the cat's health. The trouble is for a very long time they have not done that properly.
A profession as esteemed (usually but not in this case regrettably) as the veterinarian's can only lose decision making on matters of cat health (their area of operation obviously) if something has gone badly wrong.
For local city councils to step in and start to regulate veterinarians is extraordinary and it must be very embarrassing and shocking for the senior vets who run the associations.
Lets think about it from the legislative angle. Six cities have created law to ban declawing in their city. It takes a lot of effort to create law like that. There must therefore be a lot of motivation behind the process. And where there is motivation there has to be desire and, yes, passion, and more...anger!
The creation of laws banning declawing is then driven by real concern from the majority of the people of these cities. Otherwise it would not have been created.
It is almost certainly fair to surmise that the cities concerned:
-West Hollywood 2003
-Santa Monica Oct 27th 2009, who voted 6 to 1
-San Francisco November 3rd 2009, who voted 9 to 2
-Beverly Hills November 5th 2009, who voted 5 to 0
-The city of Los Angeles voted 11 to 0 November 6th 2009 to Ban Declawing of All Animals.
...represent the general population of the USA (or is that incorrect? - I am not an American). Perhaps California is not representative of the USA. Perhaps it is a little ahead of the rest! (provocative perhaps). In any event, the point I would like to make is that there is almost certainly an undercurrent of feeling by the people of other cities in other states that declawing is wrong and should be banned. If those people speak out and the councils listen the thin end of the wedge that is in California could turn into a great stumbling block for the veterinary associations.
What if the vets decide to do some other treatment that might be considered against the best interests of the cat? There is now a precedent that they can be regulated at the legislative level (the highest level). The vets are throwing away their right to run their own lives and they deserve it.
So come on vets in America. Wake up. Do the right thing. Take back your autonomy to make clinical decisions and ban declawing across the USA yourselves. That is probably the only way you can stop the gradual erosion of your profession that started decades ago when you decided to make money from cats rather than follow your oath and cure them of illness.
From Declawing Bans Should Worry American Veterinarians to Cat News
