Oct. 2025

Petition to the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA)

Stop Defending Declawing — or Rename Yourselves the American Veterinary Money Association

We, the undersigned, call on the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) to finally declare the declawing of domestic cats below the standard of care in veterinary medicine and to fully condemn this cruel, outdated, and mutilating practice—as you have already done for exotic cats.

If the AVMA continues to protect and justify declawing, despite overwhelming scientific and ethical evidence against it, then it should honestly rename itself the “American Veterinary Money Association.”

Ethics, Not Excuses

Declawing is the amputation of each toe’s last bone, a procedure that causes lifelong pain, behavioral problems, and disability. 
Yet the AVMA’s current policy continues to defend it under the guise of “professional judgment,” enabling veterinarians to profit from cruelty rather than protect animal welfare.

The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), a trade organization dedicated to advancing the interests of its member veterinarians, is under fire as evidence reveals that AVMA Delegates with direct financial ties to declawing clinics, those who profit from this cruel procedure, or whose clinics refer clients to AVMA member veterinarians that perform declawing, are the ones influencing the organization’s declawing policy.

Despite overwhelming scientific evidence and ethical consensus that declawing is an act of mutilation causing pain, behavioral issues and lifelong harm, the AVMA refuses to fully condemn it, stating in its new position: “The AVMA respects the veterinarian’s right to use professional judgment when deciding what is necessary and appropriate to best protect their individual patients’ health and welfare.”

But declawing never protects a cat’s health or welfare — it destroys both.

Even worse, AVMA delegates and members have repeatedly lobbied to block state and local anti-declawing legislation across the country—spreading misinformation, fear, and false claims to lawmakers to protect their profits and preserve the status quo. These actions directly contradict the AVMA’s stated mission to advance animal welfare and expose a deep ethical failure within the organization: choosing financial and professional convenience over the health, safety, and dignity of the very animals AVMA veterinarians are sworn to protect.

The AVMA’s new 2025 position—defending declawing under the guise of respecting veterinarian's "professional judgment” in deciding what’s best for their patients—stands in stark contrast to overwhelming scientific evidence showing the procedure causes lasting pain and harm. The policy exposes an organization where greed and power have overtaken ethics, compassion, and science.

In a stunning example of hypocrisy, the AVMA's 2026-27 President-Elect, Dr. Robert Knapp, advertises declawing on his clinic’s website, with language that normalizes the cruelty: "Declaw with laser (front feet only)" and "We will declaw the front feet of indoor only cats." This messaging falsely implies that amputating only the front toe bones and claws, or using a laser, makes the procedure acceptable and safe for cats. It does not. Laser declawing a cat's front feet is still the amputation of each toe’s last bone, a mutilating, inhumane, and painful procedure that causes permanent harm to a cat’s health and well-being.

Staff at Knapp Veterinary Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, confirmed that declawing is performed “all the time” and “Monday through Friday” by all four veterinarians, including Dr. Knapp himself. A spay/declaw costs $680–$720, and a declaw alone runs $416.97–$455. 

This routine advertisement and practice of the cruel and inhumane procedure of declawing by an AVMA President-Elect underscores how deeply entrenched this cruelty remains in America — even among those positioned to lead the nation's largest veterinary organization.

By contrast, we found that only around 25% of veterinary clinics in Columbus, OH still perform declawing, with the majority having stopped because they state it is inhumane, cruel, and harmful to cats. This stark divide highlights how ethical veterinarians follow current science and refuse to perform this cruel procedure, while others continue declawing to reap profits, with many declawing clinics openly claiming that declawing is ok for cats.

In a further display of ignoring scientific consensus, Dr. Elizabeth Boggier, owner of MountainView Veterinary Hospital in Denville, N.J., serves as the AVMA’s New Jersey Delegate and Vice President-Elect (2026–2028). Her clinic performs declawing under vague claims of “medical necessity,” with staff citing reasons such as owners with thin skin, those on blood thinners, or hospice situations.

These are human health excuses, not veterinary ones and they directly contradict global medical and veterinary consensus. The CDC, WHO, NIH, U.S. Public Health Service, Canadian Medical Association, AAHA, ASPCA, VCA, Feline VMA, and other leading organizations all agree that declawing cats owned by people with health issues is not recommended. Experts warn that declawing offers a false sense of security and can actually increase risks, as declawed cats are more likely to bite or avoid the litter box. Hygiene, nail caps, and safe handling protect people, not amputating a cat’s toes.

The AVMA’s President-elect, VP Elect, Delegates, and members that declaw cats highlight the core of the problem: veterinarians who profit from declawing still sit at the policy table, ensuring the AVMA protects revenue streams rather than speaking for cats.

Full story about this issue. https://citythekitty.org/avmas-credibility-in-crisis-leaders-with-financial-ties-to-declawing-shape-policy-prompting-calls-to-rename-it-the-american-veterinary-money-association/

Our Call to Action

We urge the AVMA to:

1. Amend its policy to declare feline declawing below the standard of care and ethically unacceptable in all but true, documented medical necessity for the cat—not convenience for the human.
2. Remove all leadership and Delegates with financial conflicts of interest related to declawing.
3. Put cats before cash and align your policies with global veterinary ethics.

If you will not, then embrace transparency and rename your organization to what it has become: the American Veterinary Money Association.

Cats deserve better. Ethics demand better. The public expects better.
Do the right thing, AVMA — condemn declawing once and for all.

Here's our rebuttal to all the nonsense in the AVMA's position statement. Rebuttal to AVMA's Declawing Position Statement

Many AVMA vets even declaw cats and kittens and don't use any pain meds.  Here are a couple examples- http://www.citythekitty.com/many-avma-vets-declaw-cats-and-give-no-pain-meds/

It's time for you to do the right thing and stop putting the welfare of your declawing vet's pocketbooks over the welfare of cats! http://www.citythekitty.com/american-veterinary-money-association-deception-for-profits/

Please go to my website and sign all my petitions to help end declawing! www.citythekitty.com

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