WHAT YOU CAN DO
Support the West Hollywood Declaw Ban
Send a polite, personalized letter to the individuals listed below. (If you have any personal experience with declawing, especially negative ones, please include your story in the letter, using the first person, "I", to be more compelling.) Communicating a message that is concise, positive and proactive is far more persuasive than a long, critical message with a negative tone.
Click here to see KCET's video on the declawing controversy
What is the lawsuit about?
In 2003, the city of West Hollywood passed the nation's first ban on declawing, which is an amputation of the toe bone containing the claw. It is currently illegal for any person in the City of West Hollywood to declaw any animal without a medical reason, such as injury, infection, or disease that requires the removal claw.
The California Veterinary Medical Association contends that this law is a restriction of veterinary practice and that a local government may not pass such a law. West Hollywood's position is that has the right to prohibit anyone from performing a procedure it considers cruel. Declawing is already illegal or considered unethical in most of the rest of the world.
Why is the CVMA suing to overturn the will of the people of West Hollywood?
Veterinarians want to protect their ability to declaw cats despite the fact that their colleagues in most other nations consider declawing a violation of professional ethics. California vets' British brethren officially list declawing as "mutilation" and as an "unacceptable practice." The AVMA admonishes veterinarians to treat the behavioral causes of unwanted scratching before resorting to surgery, but one need only perform a quick internet search to see that declawing is actively marketed to veterinary clients. It is even offered in discounted package deals with routine spaying and neutering. This practice is known in the veterinary world as "supersizing" a spay (or neuter).
Why the fuss over declawing?
The suit is not actually about the moral or medical merits of declawing. It is about the right of a community to set its own standards about which activities are acceptable within its jurisdiction. The precedents set by this suit will have far-reaching effects for other animal welfare issues.
How strong is the CVMA case?
It is difficult to know how a judge will rule prior to a trial, but West Hollywood has the legal support of several prominent LA law firms, as well as LA Lawyers for Animals, Animal Protection Institute, The Humane Society of the United States, and Animal Legal Defense Fund. The consensus is that West Hollywood has a very strong case.
Won't the California veterinarians look bad fighting to perform a procedure that vets in other countries consider mutilation?
You'd think so, wouldn't you?
Write or e-mail the City Council of West Hollywood and ask them to vigorously fight the CVMA challenge.
West Hollywood City Council:
Mayor John J. Duran
Mayor Pro Tempore Abbe Land
Councilmember Sal Guarriello
Councilmember John Heilman
Councilmember Jeffrey Prang
Address:
8300 Santa Monica Boulevard
West Hollywood, CA 90069
E-mail addresses:
jduran@weho.org, jprang@weho.org, aland@weho.org
jheilman@weho.org, sguarriello@weho.org
Write a letter to the CVMA
Tell the CVMA to back off and to use their time and resources helping animals, perhaps volunteering to spay and neuter to fight the pet overpopulation crisis.
CVMA Officers and Staff:
CVMA President, Eric Weigand, DVM
1324 N. Claremont Blvd.
Claremont, CA 91711
Phone: 909-621-0900
Fax: 909-624-9684
Email: info@clmntvet.com
CVMA House of Delegates Chairman
Mark T. Nunez, DVM
Phone: 818-845-7246
Fax: 818-848-3236
Email: mark.nunez@vcamail.com
CVMA Staff Information:
Executive Director, Valerie Fenstermaker
1400 River Park Drive, Suite 100
Sacramento, CA 95815
Phone: 916-649-0599 - Voice Mail #32
Fax: 916-646-9156
E-mail address: vfenstermaker@cvma.net
Assistant Executive Director, Dan Segna, DVM
1400 River Park Drive, Suite 100
Sacramento, CA 95815
Phone: 916-649-0599 - Voice Mail #36
Fax: 916-646-9156
E-mail address: dsegna@cvma.net