Declawing is illegal or considered extremely inhumane in many countries of our world now:
Austria, Australia, Belgium, Bosnia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, England, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Hungary, France, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, New Zealand, Northern Ireland, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Scotland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Wales and Yugoslavia.
Despite extensive research I’ve been unable to find much information about all the other countries and their stance on declawing. I think maybe in some, the subject of declawing hasn’t been discussed because it has never even been considered to be an option.
I did find one interesting report, that in Singapore declawing is discouraged, so maybe there are more countries where it is discouraged too or where declawing is so rarely asked for that there needs to be no law banning it.
Our Animal Welfare Act 2006 here in the UK makes declawing illegal but I don’t know of any UK vet who would ever consider let alone perform this cruel major surgery on a cat anyway, or any cat caretaker who would ask for it.
It seems to be the USA, mainly North America, also Canada, where declawing is most popular and where some vets are still advertising declawing with discount or along with neutering.
They are of the opinion that it’s kinder to declaw a kitten than an adult cat, they will not admit that this violates the AVMA guidelines that declawing should be a last resort and they will not admit that it violates their sworn oath to cause no animal to suffer.
New petitions keep springing up on the internet from individuals who want declawing banned, it seems that on-line petitions don’t carry much weight, but they do show the strength of feeling of the many people who hate declawing and want to try to stop it.
Slow progress is being made, but some cities in California have already banned declawing: Berkeley, Beverley Hills, Burbank, Culver City, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Santa Monica and West Hollywood.
Hopefully more might follow suite. Also, it is now illegal for landlords in these states of America to force a tenant to have a cat declawed: California and Rhode Island. The same legislation is pending in: New York and Massachusetts.
The Paw Project and many more individual vets who do not declaw are trying to educate cat caretakers by holding screenings of the Paw Project film. This means that growing number of cat lovers are finding out the truth about how serious declawing is and the many physical and/or mental problems it often causes cats.
One day declawing WILL be banned worldwide but not soon enough for the countless cats doomed to suffer until it is!
Update March 2022: Since this post was published, New York State has banned declawing. Maryland is considering it as has Florida. Denver has banned it. There may be others but these come to mind immediately. There is a gradual change in opinion and the veterinarians are in retreat. They are getting to the stage where they can no longer find excuses for doing it. There are no excuses. The vets find cynical and pathetic reasons.
Ruth, my geography has improved no end writing for PoC!
WOW!
So much work went into this. Great job.
I wish we could see the worldwide ban in our lifetime.
How would you celebrate, R?
I have a HUGE favor to ask of you all. I am a volunteer on Pet360 on the message boards. I started a topic about declawing, and there are several folks who think it is not a big deal and their cats are NOT in pain. They say that if it weren’t for declawing they would have given up their cats due to the damage and not able to train them to use scratching posts or to trim their nails.
It just requires signing up for the site- which is a really good one, actually. It is slowly growing in popularity.
I beg you to comment- and help me educate folks about how unneccesary it is, and how WRONG it is. Please do not make them wrong- they know little- I want folks educated and to learn to think differently.
http://community.pet360.com/t5/Cat-Petiquette-Behavior-Training/Declawing-Cats-A-Highly-Controversial-Topic/m-p/51705#M737
Thanks so much,
Jo
BRILLIANT is about all I have to say!
How people who profess to love cats can mutilate them, robbing them of their precious claws is beyond cruelty. These folks don’t love their cats! They love their furniture and possessions above and beyond their feelings for their remarkable felines. It sickens me- just to think that this surgery still continues to flourish here in this country- the good ole USA where we live in an “add water and stir” society.
We promote laziness and celebrate shortcuts. Anyone, that after knowing all the facts about declawing and still has this surgery done should be banned from ever being owned by a cat! ::::off soapbox:::- leaving room for the next person to step onto it.
You are right Marc, declawing probably has never been thought of in poor countries and it seems obscene that some people pay money out to have their cats crippled for convenience sake, while some people are struggling to survive, some even starving to death.
Thanks Rudolph, you hit the nail on the head there, why do people get cats and if they don’t want them to live naturally!
Declawing should not be available then those people who only want an adapted cat wouldn’t have them and ruin their cats lives.