People concerned about the welfare of animals thank Michigan State Representative Jimmie Wilson, Jr. for introducing legislation, HB 4674 and HB 4883, which will prohibit the unnecessary and harmful practice of declawing in Michigan. 

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) and the American Association of Feline Practitioners (AAFP).  The states of New York and Maryland have banned declawing.  Eight cities in California - Los Angeles, San Francisco, West Hollywood, Burbank, Santa Monica, Berkeley, Beverly Hills, and Culver City - plus Denver (CO), St. Louis (MO), Austin (TX), Pittsburgh (PA), Allentown (PA), Easton (PA), Etna (PA), and Madison (WI) and several counties have enacted declaw bans.  Nine out of ten Canadian provinces have also banned declawing in the past several years.  Statistics 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 AAFP. 

The Paw Project, Humane Society of the United States, Michigan Humane Society, Humane Society of Huron Valley, Animal Legal Defense Fund, Humane Society Veterinary Medical Association, and the signatories of this petition hope these Michigan bills will create a model for humane legislation in other states.