West Hollywood, California (Thursday, November 5, 2009) - Faced with a January 1, 2010 deadline to implement a municipal ban on the declawing of housecats, several cities across the state are racing to match West Hollywood’s pioneering law against what animal rights activists call a barbaric practice. 
Photo by WeHo News. |
Santa Monica became the second city in the state to ban the practice when it passed an ordinance similar to WeHo’s last week.
Los Angeles City council takes up the issue for a final vote on Friday and the City of San Francisco will vote Thursday. Berkley is also considering a declawing ban.
The Santa Monica ordinance would, as does the WeHo law, prohibit procuring, performing or assisting in performing onychectomy (declawing) or flexor tendonectomy except when necessary to address a medical condition of the cat.
Any person who violated the ordinance would be guilty of a misdemeanor and be fined $500 or less or be imprisoned for six months, or both.
Announcing the Santa Monica council decision at Monday’s council meeting, John Duran, the author of the West Hollywood law, "Our little town does something, we survived the slings and the arrows and then other cities follow suit.”
The WeHo law wended its way to a victory before the State Supreme Court, which caused the legislative backlash that led to a state law prohibiting such bans on “professionally accepted procedures.”
Photo by WeHo News. |
“If we are able to see all these cities across California pass ordinances as well it will continue the movement opposing animal cruelty," said Mr. Duran.
That change in the law preempts municipalities from banning cat declawing procedures after Dec. 31, hence the rush to action.
Los Angeles City council member Paul Koretz told WeHo News that the LA version of the bill had come out of committee despite heavy lobbying by the California Veterinary Association, which pushed the backlash law to WeHo’s ban.
He said he saw the chances of passage as good once the bill lands on the council floor.
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