People concerned about the welfare of animals thank Virginia Delegate Wendy Gooditis for introducing legislation, HB 1382, which would prohibit the unnecessary and harmful practice of declawing in Virginia. The Paw Project is committed to sponsoring and supporting anti-declaw legislation in Virginia and in other states and provinces.

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, St. Louis, Austin, Pittsburgh, Allentown (PA) and Madison (WI) have enacted declaw bans.  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 and the signatories of this petition hope this Virginia bill will be a model for humane legislation in other states.