Outlawing declawing cats: Animal rights or veterinary autonomy?

A veterinary technician exposes the claws of a resident feline. File
Published: 01-21-2025 5:42 PM
Modified: 01-21-2025 5:50 PM |
Michelle Conroy can’t forget the heart-wrenching scenes from when she worked at a local animal hospital. There, during the 1990s, she witnessed young cats suffering in the aftermath of declawing procedures.
“They would be banging their hands trying to get the bandages off and the cage would be full of blood,” said Conroy, a Concord resident, at the legislature on Tuesday. “They would just be wailing. It was an awful sight.”
The declawed cats would need to have their paws re-bandaged as the healing process slowed down.
After her testimony, Conroy urged the legislature to pass House Bill 201, a proposed ban on the procedure that removes the last bone on each toe of a cat’s paw.
The bill, sponsored by State Rep. Mike Bordes, a Laconia Republican, is back in front of lawmakers after a similar measure reached the Senate last year but failed to pass. The current version includes exceptions for medical reasons.
“It’s like cutting your finger off at the middle knuckle. It’s actually an amputation,” Bordes said as he introduced the bill on Tuesday. “It’s not a surgery. It’s an actual amputation that could be painful to the animal.”
Jane Barlow Roy, speaking on behalf of the New Hampshire Veterinary Medical Association, which opposes the bill, argued that many people misunderstand the concept of an “inhumane” practice when it comes to veterinary procedures.
She pointed out that even common practices like neutering could be considered inhumane by the same standard, sparking a broader debate on what truly constitutes animal cruelty.
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“It’s not inhumane necessarily to declaw a cat under proper analgesia and anesthesia,” said Roy.
Many veterinarians who testified against the bill echoed the same sentiment, arguing that it would strip them of their medical decision-making autonomy, even though most agreed that declawing cats is inhumane.
“It would undermine the professional judgment of New Hampshire veterinarians and disrupt the essential veterinary patient-client relationship,” said Roy.
Lisa Boyer, a veterinarian and the owner of Animal Health Consultants in Brentwood, opposed the bill even though she doesn’t perform declawing. She said she is confident in saying “no” to pet owners when necessary and doesn’t want legislators to make that decision on behalf of veterinarians.
“The legislation diminishes the collaboration between a loving pet owner and a trusted veterinarian,” said Boyer. “This law undermines my professional judgment and is an unnecessary law that, frankly, will have no effect on the health and welfare of cats in the state of New Hampshire.”
Boyer also argued that banning declawing could lead to unintended harm. She said some owners might avoid seeking veterinary care altogether, cutting off opportunities to address underlying issues or explore alternatives.
Some who testified in support of the bill suggested alternatives to declawing, such as using nail caps, regularly trimming a cat’s nails at home or with a veterinarian or adding more scratching posts and surfaces around the house.
Toni McLellan, a former director of operations at an animal shelter, said the time has come to outlaw declawing, which is often done to prevent cats from damaging furniture or scratching people. She described seeing firsthand how declawed cats were left crippled by the procedure.
She said some cats refused to use the litter box because the pain from their declawed paws made it unbearable.
“What does this say about us as a people, as a culture, if we don’t stop this cruel and inhumane treatment?” asked McLellan.
Sruthi Gopalakrishnan can be reached at sgopalakrishnan@cmonitor.com