Nevada could become second state to ban declawing of cats
Submitted by admin on Mon, 03/15/2021 - 10:55am
Assemblywoman Susie Martinez (D-Las Vegas) isn’t really a cat person. Her daughter is allergic — something she found out while visiting her sister, a cat owner, and her daughter’s eyes got so swollen she “looked like Rocky (Balboa).”
But Martinez is nonetheless poised to become the 2021 session’s feline flag-bearer with her introduction of AB209, a bill that would generally outlaw the declawing of cats, except for medically necessary reasons.
In an interview, Martinez said declawing was an inhumane and cruel practice — amputating the last bone on each of a cat’s toes, which for humans would be the equivalent of cutting off a finger to the first knuckle.
“It's such an archaic process, what it does to them mentally, and then how they can have damage in their little paws, you know, they'll have pain for the rest of their life,” she said.
Nevada wouldn’t be the fur-st state to ban declawing; New York enacted a similar ban on declawing cats in 2019, following several cities in the U.S. and nearly four dozen other countries that have outlawed the purr-actice. Supporters of declawing bans estimate that up to a quarter or more of cats in the U.S. have undergone the procedure.
The bill would generally prohibit the declawing of cats, unless needed for medical purposes, with an escalating penalty for violators starting at $1,000 — quite a bit of scratch.
The other section prohibits veterinarians from unlawfully declawing a cat, imposing a civil penalty and various actions that the State Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners can take against violators.
Supporters of the bill might hiss at a fiscal note submitted by the veterinary board, which estimates a $9,000 up-front cost and around $16,000 in costs over future budget cycles to establish a new tracking system, as well as ongoing training and investigations costs.
Martinez said her niece is currently living at her home in Las Vegas while she lives in Carson City, and has brought along her three cats — Chico, Maple (or ‘Meeps’) and Maisie. She said the three cats are getting along fine with the original tenants; her three dogs.
“They've been fine in my house,” she said. “I've got all kinds of brand new furniture. They've been doing fine. You know, you just clip their nails. You teach them to be a little civilized. And they will be okay.”
— This story was used with permission of The Nevada Independent. Go here for updates to this and other stories.
