PAW PROJECT PRESS ROOM — NEWSWORTHY
Paw Project Activities, Declawing Issues and Animal Welfare Legislation
Eight California cities have passed bans on declawing
Los Angeles, San Francisco, Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, Berkeley, Culver City, and Burbank enacted declaw bans in 2009. West Hollywood passed the nation's first declaw ban in 2003.
November 17, 2010— Dr. Jennifer Conrad, Paw Project Director, speaks on animal-friendly legislation in Seattle at a conference sponsored by the Washington State Bar Association.
October 13, 2010— New York Member of the Assembly Deborah Glick introduces, A11709, a bill nearly identical to the Paw Project-sponsored bill, AB 2743. The New York bill also prohibits clauses in residential leases requiring the declawing of animals. It does not address devocalization.
September 30, 2010— Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoes Paw Project-sponsored bill, AB 2743. His veto message contained mischaracterizations and inaccuracies lifted directly from the opposition letter from the California Veterinary Medical Association (CVMA), the trade organization that promotes the business interests of veterinarians. Although AB 2743 applied only to landlords, CVMA feared that this bill could be used as a "stepping stone" to a statewide declaw ban. The bill contained no provisions which would have restricted or prohibited veterinarians from performing devocalization or declawing procedures.
August 24, 2010— AB 2743 passes CA Senate Floor with 22-12 vote.
June 15, 2010— AB 2743 passes CA Senate Judiciary Committee with a 3-2 vote.
May 13, 2010—AB 2743 passes CA Assembly Floor with 63-7 vote.
May 4, 2010— AB 2743 passes CA Assembly Judiciary Committee with 9-0 vote.
February 19, 2010— Paw Project-sponsored bill, AB 2743, is introduced by California Assemblymember Pedro Nava. The bill would make it illegal for California's landlords to require renters to declaw or devocalize their animals as a condition of tenancy.
December 8, 2009— Burbank – Anti-declaw ordinance passed with a 4–1 vote.
November 30, 2009— Culver City – Anti-declaw ordinance passed second reading (5-0) at City Council Meeting.
November 23, 2009— Culver City – Anti-declaw ordinance passed first reading (5-0) at City Council Meeting.
November 18, 2009— Anti-declaw ordinance is signed by Los Angeles Mayor Villaraigosa.
November 17, 2009— Los Angeles – Anti-declaw ordinance passes second reading unanimously 14-0.
November 17, 2009— Berkeley – Anti-declaw ordinance passes second reading unanimously 9-0.
November 9, 2009— Malibu – A resolution to condemn declawing cats was approved 5-0, but no ordinance was passed.
November 10, 2009— San Francisco voted on declawing ban (second reading). It passed 8-2.
November 10, 2009— Berkeley voted on declawing ban. It passed first reading 9-0.
November 10, 2009— Santa Monica City Council voted to pass the ban on declawing. It passed 5–1.
November 5, 2009— Beverly Hills unanimously approved a declaw ban. It passed 5–0.
October 27, 2009— Santa Monica City Council voted to pass the ban on declawing 6–1. All seven Councilmembers spoke out against declawing for owner convenience and against "packaging" declaw surgery with spaying and neutering. Three non-local CVMA vets and two other persons testified against the ban. About 40 people showed up to support the ban, including six local, CVMA-member vets and a representative of HSVMA. Over 20 people testified in favor of a ban.
April 8, 2009—Dr. Jennifer Conrad appears on "Talking Animals" radio show on WMNF 88.5 FM.
March 29, 2009—Extreme Makeover: Home Edition episode airs. Drs. Jennifer Conrad and Kirk Wendelburg repair the feet of Diablo.
February 3, 2009—Diablo, a six-year-old male tiger from Forever Wild gets paw repair surgery while his sanctuary, Forever Wild gets a facelift from ABC's hit television show, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. The show will air Sunday, March 29, 2009 at 7 PM on ABC.
January 15, 2009—Bobby, the bobcat from Nature Of Wildworks in Topanga, California, gets his paw repaired. His feet were causing him pain and the reason was obvious. He had hammer toes and his pads were cracked and bloody.