The Canadian Veterinary Medical Association today issued a statement opposing the declawing of cats, a stronger position than they’ve taken previously.
From the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation:
The Canadian Veterinary Medical Association has strengthened its stand against declawing domestic cats, saying the practice causes unnecessary and avoidable pain.
“It is evident that felines suffer needlessly when undergoing this surgery as an elective measure,” Dr. Troy Bourque, the association’s president, said Wednesday.
“The CVMA views this surgery as unacceptable as it offers no advantage to the feline and the lack of scientific evidence leaves us unable to predict the likelihood of long-term behavioural and physical negative side-effects.”
The association is sending the new guideline on what it calls “non-therapeutic partial digital amputation” to its 7,000 members across Canada. It also hopes to raise public awareness to reduce demand for the procedure.
I applaud my colleagues in Canada for this statement, and hope we’ll soon see a similar toughening of the American Veterinary Medical Association’s stance, which weakly discourages declawing but stops well short of opposing the practice.
