The Santa Monica City Council voted Sept. 22 to draft an ordinance that would ban declawing in the city. It passed with a 5-1 vote. The motion was brought by City Council Members Kevin McKeown and Gleam Davis, who requested that the ordinance, if passed, be enacted before Dec. 31 since Senate Bill 762 takes effect Jan. 1. SB 762 was signed into law by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on July 2, and in short, will not allow cities and counties to pass ordinances to ban medical procedures. The legislation, supported by the California Veterinary Medical Association, was in response to West Hollywood’s ban on the procedure, which the city passed in 2003. The CVMA contends that there should be a statewide uniformity of standards for medical professionals. Groups such as The Paw Project claim that declawing causes crippling effects and in the end provides no therapeutic benefit for the animal or cat owner. The anti-declawing organization recently unveiled a new billboard in West Hollywood as part of a campaign to make “people realize that declawing is inhumane and should be illegal.” The billboard, which may soon be displayed in other cities, depicts a human hand with each finger severed at the last joint. The organization said the picture is an anatomically-correct representation of the declaw surgery performed on cats. Santa Monica’s anti-declaw ordinance is expected to be voted on by November. San Francisco is also considering enacting a declaw ban before SB 762 takes effect. <HOME>
