STOP DECLAWING IN RHODE ISLAND

STOP DECLAWING IN RHODE ISLAND

Started
February 14, 2018
Petition to
State Representative William O'Brien and 1 other
Signatures: 9,167Next Goal: 10,000
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Why this petition matters

Started by The Paw Project

We request the Rhode Island legislature to pass H7052 and S2007 which would add declawing to the list of animal cruelty offenses in Rhode Island. 

Declawing is amputation, whether performed by scalpel, clippers, or laser. We believe there is never a reason to declaw for non-therapeutic reasons (that is, unless surgery were necessary to treat animals' medical conditions).  Declawing does not keep cats in homes, a fact acknowledged by the American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA), the American Association of Feline Practitioners, and the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association.   Declawing is illegal in New York.  Eight cities in California - Los Angeles, San Francisco, West Hollywood, Burbank, Santa Monica, Berkeley, Beverly Hills, and Culver City - plus other us cities, including Denver, Austin, St. Louis, Pittsburgh, Tacoma, and Madison have enacted declaw bans. Statistics publicly available from those cities indicate that the relinquishment of cats to shelters in those cities, in the years since the bans were enacted, has not increased - in fact, the number of cats dumped in shelters has DECREASED consistently in the years since the laws went into effect.

There is no reason to declaw cats to protect human health.  The NIH, CDC, US Public Health Service, the Infectious Diseases Society of America, and the Canadian Medical Association, all have specifically stated that the declawing is "not advised," even for the animals of persons who are severely immunocompromised, including those with HIV.  This opinion is echoed in statements on declawing published by the AAHA and the American Association of Feline Practitioners (AAFP).  

We hope these companion bills will be successful and be a model for humane legislation in other states. 

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Signatures: 9,167Next Goal: 10,000
Support now
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