Starting from Scratch: A Study in Claws and Clauses in Cat Declaw Legislation
![handle is hein.journals/drklr69 and id is 709 raw text is: STARTING FROM SCRATCH: A STUDY IN CLAWS AND
CLAUSES IN CAT DECLAW LEGISLATION
We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals. -Immanuel Kant1
ABSTRACT
On July 22, 2019, New York became the first and only state to outlaw feline
onychectomy (declawing), thrusting the declaw debate to the center of the
country's attention. It was a long time coming. Over 15 years earlier in 2003, West
Hollywood, California was the first city in the United States to ban declawing,
followed closely by eight other cities. Many veterinarian clinics refuse to perform
the surgery, and multiple pet conscious organizations have been calling for the
change for years. Following New York's ban, several other states have developed
similar declawing legislation. As it stands currently, however, declawing is legal
in 49 states and may be required by landlords in 48 states.
This is a problem unique to the United States. While studies suggest
approximately 60 percent of U.S. cat owners approve of declawing and nearly a
quarter of all U.S. cats have undergone the procedure,2 declawing has never been
popular outside the United States and is considered animal cruelty nearly
everywhere else in the world. This surge in legislation may represent a pointed
change: the country is evolving as more accurate information on declawing
becomes more available, and the U.S. attitude on cat declawing is surely shifting
toward the international standard.
This Note details declawing as a procedure and examines all relevant local
and state declawing legislation, including legislation on and federal protections
granted to big cats such as lions and tigers, and legislation pertaining to landlords
necessitating tenants' cats be declawed as a condition of renting. While
highlighting the arguments for bans, this Note also considers the countervailing
theories against it and answers them in turn. Through this survey, the Author
recommends a total ban on medically unnecessary declawing locally in Iowa and
federally.
1. Immanuel Kant: From LECIURES ON ETHICS, S. METHODIST UNIV.,
http://faculty.smu.edu/jkazez/animal%20rights/IMMANUEL%20KANT.htm
[https://perma.cc/T52C-G7PQ].
2. Claire Martin, Cat Declawing: Once Routine, Procedure Now Draws Fire as
Harmful, DENVER POST (Apr. 28, 2016), https://www.denverpost.com/2013/10/31/cat-
declawing-once-routine-procedure-now-draws-fire-as-harmful/.
675](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.journals/drklr69&div=25&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)
What Is HeinOnline?
Contact us for annual subscription options:
Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?
profiles profiles most
Starting from Scratch: A Study in Claws and Clauses in Cat Declaw Legislation
Contact us for annual subscription options:
Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?
profiles profiles most