NJ Lawmakers Revisiting Ban On Declawing Cats
The bill from state Sen. Troy Singleton, D-7 of Delran, would prohibit veterinarians in the Garden State from declawing any cat except under select circumstances where the procedure is necessary for the animal’s health.
TRENTON Legislation outlawing the declawing of cats is back and moving through New Jersey’s Legislature again.
The bill from state Sen. Troy Singleton, D-7 of Delran, would prohibit veterinarians in the Garden State from declawing any cat except under select circumstances where the procedure is necessary for the animal’s health.
The procedure, known as onychectomy, typically involves amputating portions of a cat’s paws and is typically performed because the animal is destructive to furniture or other property.
“Declawing a cat is a cruel practice that more often than not is done for the sake of convenience rather than necessity,” Singleton said Monday after the bill was advanced out of the Senate Environment and Energy Committee. “Nationwide, cities have enacted laws to prohibit this inhumane procedure, and it is time for New Jersey to put an end to it once and for all.”
Under Singleton’s bill, veterinarians who declaw cats or other animals for any reason other than because it’s deemed necessary for a medical condition that compromises the animal’s health could face a fine of up to $1,000 and six months in jail, plus a potential civil penalty of between $500 and $2,000.
Supporters say the restriction would put an end to what they describe as a cruel, painful and unnecessary practice. But opponents, including some veterinarians, argue that the procedure is rarely performed but preferable to having a family surrender a cat to a shelter, where the animal may be euthanized.
“We are not pro-declaw. We do very few. We are anti-abandonment and anti-euthanasia,” veterinarian Mike Yurkus, of the New Jersey Veterinary Medical Association, said Monday during the Environment and Energy Committee’s hearing.
“In some cases, it’s the only way to keep a cat in a loving home,” he added.
Animal rights groups countered that the procedure was painful and unnecessary.
“How this is still not considered cruelty is beyond me,” said Kathy McGuire, of the group New Jersey Aid for Animals. “It’s pretty barbaric.”
Brian Hackett, of the Humane Society of the U.S., said most veterinarian medical societies also now oppose declawing as an unnecessary procedure.
New York became the first state in the nation to ban declawing last summer when Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed a bill outlawing the procedure except for “for a therapeutic purpose” like treating a cat’s existing infection, disease or injury. Declawing a cat for any other reason including the health or “convenience” of the owner is subject to a $1,000 fine.
Britain, Germany, Australia and several cities in California have also banned the practice.
The bill was advanced from the Senate panel by a unanimous vote but still has several hurdles left to clear in order to become law. It must still be approved by the full Senate and Assembly and be signed by the governor.
New Jersey lawmakers have considered the issue previously. Singleton first introduced the measure in 2016 when he was still serving in the Assembly. It was approved by the full Assembly by a 42-10 vote with 12 abstentions in 2017 but was never voted on by the Senate during that session.
Singleton reintroduced the measure in 2018 after he became a senator but the measure never reached either the Senate or Assembly floor during the session.