So very thankfully yes. It's USA that needs to stop.
Laws and policies governing onychectomy vary around the world. For example, many European countries prohibit or significantly restrict the practice, as do Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and Turkey. It is banned in at least 22 countries. The list below gives an overview of the situation in different parts of the world.
Australia
In Australia, declawing has never been common, and for all practical purpose, does not exist. Nationwide legislation was recently enacted that prohibits the declawing of cats except for medical need of the cat.[31] The Australian Veterinary Association's policy states: "Surgical alteration to the natural state of an animal is acceptable only if it is necessary for the health and welfare of the animal concerned. Performance of any surgical procedure for other than legitimate medical reasons is unacceptable."[32]
Brazil
In Brazil, declawing is not allowed by the Federal Council of Veterinary Medicine. [33]
Israel
In Israel, the Knesset Education Committee voted unanimously to send a bill banning the declawing of cats not for medical reasons. The bill has passed second and third readings on November 28, 2011, effectively making declawing a criminal offense with penalty of 1 year in prison or a fine of 75,000 Shekels.[34]
Europe
In many European countries the practice is forbidden either under the terms of the European Convention for the Protection of Pet Animals[35] or under Local Animal Abuse Laws, unless there it is for "veterinary medical reasons or for the benefit of any particular animal." Some European countries go further, such as Finland, Estonia,[36] the Netherlands, Germany and Switzerland,[37] where declawing cats for non-medical reasons is always illegal under their laws against cruelty to animals.
Austria
In Austria, the Federal Act on the Protection of Animals, in Section 7, states, surgical procedures "carried out for other than therapeutic or diagnostic purposes...are prohibited, in particular...declawing."[38]
United Kingdom
In the United Kingdom, declawing was outlawed by the Animal Welfare Act 2006, which explicitly prohibited "interference with the sensitive tissues or bone structure of the animal, otherwise than for the purposes of its medical treatment."[39] Even before the 2006 Act, however, declawing was extremely uncommon, to the extent that most people had never seen a declawed cat. The procedure was considered cruel by almost all British vets, who refused to perform it except on medical grounds. The Guide to Professional Conduct of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons stated that declawing was "only acceptable where, in the opinion of the veterinary surgeon, injury to the animal is likely to occur during normal activity. It is not acceptable if carried out for the convenience of the owner ... the removal of claws, particularly those which are weight bearing, to preclude damage to furnishings is not acceptable."[40]
United States
Declawing is legal in most U.S. jurisdictions. It is estimated that 25% of owned cats in the United States are declawed (Patronek 2001).
Declawing was outlawed in West Hollywood, California, in 2003, the first such ban in the US.[41] The ordinance was authored by West Hollywood Councilmember John Duran and sponsored by The Paw Project, a non-profit organization started by Dr. Jennifer Conrad based in Santa Monica, CA.[42] The California Veterinary Medical Association challenged the law in court.[43] The CVMA maintained that West Hollywood had overstepped its municipal authority by enacting an ordinance that infringed on licensed professionals’ state-granted rights. It did not directly address declawing as an animal welfare issue. The CVMA initially prevailed in Superior Court, but in June 2007, the California Court of Appeal overturned the lower court ruling, thus reinstating the law banning declawing in West Hollywood.[44]
In 2004, California became the first state in the USA to enact a statewide ban on the declawing of wild and exotic cats. The bill was introduced by California Assemblymember Paul Koretz and sponsored by the Paw Project.[45]
In 2006, the United States Department of Agriculture enacted a ban on declawing of all wild and exotic animals held by USDA-licensed owners.[46]
In April 2007, the city of Norfolk, Virginia outlawed declawing by persons other than veterinarians (Municipal Code Sec. 6.1-78.1).[47]
In 2009, the California state legislature approved a measure, sponsored by the California Veterinary Medical Association (CVMA), intended to stop other cities from passing bans similar to West Hollywood's.[48] By including in the bill all professions licensed by the state Department of Consumer Affairs, the CVMA got the bill pushed through, and it was signed by the Governor in July, 2009. However, the bill's effective date, January 1, 2010, provided enough time so that seven more California cities passed local bans against the declawing of domestic cats: Los Angeles, San Francisco, Burbank, Santa Monica, Berkeley, Beverly Hills, and Culver City.[49]
In 2012, a California bill, authored by Senator Fran Pavley and sponsored by the Paw Project, was signed into law that prohibits landlords from requiring declawing and devocalization of animals as a condition of tenancy [1]. In 2013, the state of Rhode Island enacted a law, similar to the California law, [2] prohibiting landlords from requiring declawing as a condition of occupancy.
Ethical viewpoints on declawing in the US
Declawing is widely practiced but ethically controversial within the American veterinary community.[2] Some American and Canadian veterinarians endorse the procedure, while some have criticized and refused to perform it.[50] Two animal protection organizations in the US, the Humane Society of the United States and the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, discourage the procedure.[51] The Humane Society of the United States has supported legislation banning or restricting declawing.[52] Opposition to attempts to ban or restrict declawing has come from veterinary trade organizations, such as the California Veterinary Medical Association. On the other hand, the American Veterinary Medical Association states that declawing "should be considered only after attempts have been made to prevent the cat from using its claws destructively or when its clawing presents a zoonotic risk for its owner(s)."[53] Surveys suggest that 95% of declaw surgeries are done to protect furniture.[54]
