Yes, I feel very strongly about this issue. In my opinion declawing is just plain cruel, and should not even be considered. Luckily, about 23 countries do regard this procedure to be so inhumane that it’s either illegal, or performed only under extreme circumstances. Unfortunately, most of these more enlightened countries are in Europe, and sadly, declawing is still quite common here in Canada and the United States. In fact, I believe it’s fairly routine to have your cat declawed at the same time they are spayed or neutered. Terrible. In my opinion though, vets are primarily to blame. They’re the ones who know exactly what this procedure entails (amputation folks, let’s not kid ourselves), and who should be responsible for educating the public. And I hate to say this, but in my more cynical moments I wonder if money is the big factor here. Even though I would say it’s a conflict of interest, vets profit from doing this procedure. Why else do it if supposedly their role is to help animals? No, maybe I’m taking it too far, but I’m hoping that the day will come when any vet who does perform this procedure will have their licence revoked.
Like I said, I feel very strongly about this.
