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Thought this was interesting since you all are talking
about anti-declaw. Isn't it something that we, our country, consider
ourselves to be so advanced and humane than other countries and cultures,
yet we still advocate declawing?
DECLAWING CONDEMNATION
The city council of West Hollywood, California, a small municipality located near Beverly Hills, voted unanimously on Tuesday, January 21st, to condemn declawing and then asked the city's attorney to look into the legality of outlawing the painful and generally unnecessary surgery. The resolution also urges veterinarians within the one-square-mile city to encourage "animal guardians" ...a term the council officially adopted last year to acknowledge that pets are not mere property and that caring for one requires higher levels of responsibility, to use alternatives to declawing. The ban was introduced by Councilmember John Duran. He hopes cat owners will now consider alternatives to declawing such as claw caps and training. Duran, cat guardian who has reversed his own stance on declawing after learning more about it, also hoped the proposed ban would put some "teeth" into the previously ceremonial resolution to call pet owners "animal guardians." City Council Deputy Hernan Molina said that it was an easy decision for the governing body to make. "West Hollywood has a lot of animal activists, so it wasn't that hard for us to do," he noted about the progressive-minded city. "About 90 percent of the people are in favor of the ban, and of those 10 percent who opposed the ban, no one was radically opposed to the idea. Everyone said declawing is borderline inhumane, but those in opposition wanted to know what are the other options besides declawing." That's a common concern for cat owners. Many people have problems with their cat scratching inappropriate objects, but are unaware of what options exist besides declawing. It is also important to know that cat scratching is a normal behavior; cats do scratch to remove the dead outer layer of their claws, to mark territory by leaving both a visual mark and a scent, they have scent glands on their paws, to stretch their bodies and flex their feet and claws, and to work off energy. So it's unrealistic to try and prevent them from scratching altogether. The good news is that there are humane solutions that can solve scratching problems, such as redirecting the scratching onto acceptable objects. While West Hollywood may be a pioneer within the United States in trying to ban on declawing, it isn't unique: The procedure is already illegal in 24 nations, including France, Australia, Brazil, Norway, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom. The Humane Society of the United States opposes declawing of cats when it is done solely for the convenience of the owner and without benefit to the animal. Unlike human fingernails or toenails, a cat's claws are closely adhered to bone. Declawing is a serious surgical procedure in which all ten frontal tendons and nerves must be amputated to remove the claws. It is a potentially crippling surgery that deprives a cat of the means of self-defense and sometimes movement. Declawed cats who escape outside are also at an increased risk of injury or death from other animals. Brian Sodergren is an Issues Specialist in The HSUS's Companion Animals Outreach section. Hear up to the minute reports on the Declawing Debate - all this month on Animal Radio Network and online at http://AnimalRadioNetwork.com -- Brenda..... http://www.whiskersandwicks.com
Don't Take Your Organs To Heaven. Heaven Knows We Need Them
Here.
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