What’s new, pussycat? Not a de-clawing clause
CITY HALL — Nearly two dozen local veterinarians, pet groomers, animal rights activists and cat lovers descended on City Hall this week, asking elected leaders to draft a law making it illegal to de-claw cats.
Some spoke through tears as they told elected leaders about the unintended consequences of de-clawing cats, saying it leads to behavioral spats, an adversity to litter boxes and extreme paw pain. Many claimed the “systematic mutilation” of cats was performed only to pad the pockets of freewheeling veterinarians.
“De-clawing, whether it’s done with a laser a scalpel blade or dog nail clippers … is removing the last bone in a cat’s toes,” said veterinarian and local resident Jennifer Conrad, who brought the matter before City Council. “It’s your knuckle, it’s the equivalent of removing that.
“You imagine, even under anesthesia, how painful that would be to wake up from.”
A different speaker told the council the surgery costs anywhere from $150 to $750, and is routinely done without anesthesia. Though Europe has banned the procedure, only the City of West Hollywood has done so in North America, said still another speaker.
Council members scratched, voting 3-3 on the proposal to draft a law, with one absent. While some said de-clawing cats was inhumane and cruel, others agreed more information needed to be gathered to make a balanced, objective decision.
“Maybe there’s a reason that only one city in the United States has done this so far,” said City Councilman Ken Genser. “This may be a no-brainer decision, the absolute right thing, I just don’t know. But hearing that statistic … raises questions in my mind that I think need to get checked out by an independent source.”
City Councilman Kevin McKeown countered that opponents of the proposed law already had missed one opportunity to be heard. McKeown, in recent months, has spearheaded efforts to legally change dog “owners” to dog “guardians” in official city documents and has opposed poisoning the ground squirrels that contribute to the weakening of the Palisades Bluffs.
“I think the fact that none of them came down here in person to tell us it was OK to cut off a cat’s toes tells you something about how they really feel about the fact that they’re still doing this barbaric practice,” he said.
City Councilman Bob Holbrook said it wasn’t just about right or wrong, it also was about whether City Hall had jurisdiction over the matter.
“I believe this is an issue of their profession,” said Holbrook, a licensed pharmacist. “We can’t talk to any cats about it … It’s a professional privilege and priority in the practice of veterinary medicine. I’m not going to get involved in this any further.”
City Councilman Mike Feinstein didn’t buy into that argument, saying Santa Monica has often taken the lead on progressive issues it feels are important.
“We’re replete with examples here of us taking a lead on a local level, in order to move state policy,” he said. “I think that’s one of the things that residents of this city have asked successive city councils to do in a variety of environmental and social justice deals, and this is justice between species — and one that I think should have high prominence.”
But with Mayor Richard Bloom in favor of waiting to take action until more information could be gathered, the effort failed. Supporters on the council were expected to raise the matter again with City Councilwoman Pam O’Connor, who was absent, on the dais. If the proposal to draft a law eventually is pushed forward, it still must return to the council for two more rounds of voting before becoming law.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on July 31, 2004. Read the original PDF.