AAHA Veterinarians Fight to Stop The Anti-Declawing Bills. AAHA.org Puts Profits Over The Welfare of Cats

Here are some examples of how the vets with AAHA Accredited Animal Hospital’s fight to stop the anti-declawing bills and ordinances.
Dr Lynn McEwan of Palmdale veterinary hospital, an AAHA accredited animal hospital, submitted this letter of opposition to the California bill to ban declawing in 2018.
In August 2021, another AAHA veterinarian, Dr Peter Pelissier testified to the Sheridan, WY City Council and Mayor about why he opposes the declaw ban amendment to the animal cruelty/abuse ordinance. Here’s his full testimony. He was not truthful with some of his information. This declaw ban amendment was stopped by a 5-2 vote. One of the Sheridan City Council members told us that he voted no because of Dr Pelissier’s testimony.
MVMA Used Misleading Testimony to Influence 7 GOP Legislators Who Stopped Minnesota’s Declawing Bill

7 GOP Legislators are Duped by MVMA.org’s Declawing Deception And Kill The MN Anti-Declaw Bill, Ensuring Many Innocent and Healthy Cats in Minnesota Will Be Barbarically Mutilated and Suffer for Life. In 2025, MVMA spokesman Dr Trevor Ames assured lawmakers that “very few veterinary practices offer elective declawing as a service currently.” In 2026, MVMA’s spokesman, Dr Rob Memmem, co-owner of Gehrman Animal Hospital, reinforced that narrative in a March 2026 hearing, telling legislators there had been “a huge increase in the number of our veterinarians no longer performing the procedure over the last 15 or so years,” that “currently about 30%” still offer declawing while “70% are not,” and that the profession had “appropriately regulated itself moving away from this procedure.” He further claimed “a decreasing number of veterinary clinics are offering to perform this procedure entirely.” Our survey found that 61% of vet clinics in MN are still performing declawing.
While Cats Are Brutally Declawed, Vetcor’s Marketing Team Pulls a Stunt to Inflate Their Google Ratings

Story published March 10, 2026 UPDATE. April 2026 – The Minnesota Veterinary Medical Association, through its spokesperson Dr. Rob Memmem, provided misleading information about declawing to Minnesota legislators. Seven GOP legislators relied on that testimony and voted NO on the bill. Seven Democratic legislators voted YES—but the tie stopped the bill from moving forward. A […]
Why Does AAHA.org Lie About Declawing, Put Profits Over The Welfare of Cats, And Allow Declawing In Their Animal Hospitals?

The American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA) updated their declawing position statement in June 2021.
They say they strongly oppose declawing, explaining that declawing is no longer a reasonable or supported procedure… But then they say if veterinarians are going to declaw, they should use pain meds before, during, and after.
National Veterinary Associates (NVA) Calls Declawing Inhumane and Prohibits It In Their 1500 Vet Clinics in The U.S And Canada

In 2019, a spokesman for the billionaire Reimann family—whose ancestors profited under the Nazi regime—said, “The whole truth must be put on the table.”
Here’s a truth still hidden: The Reimanns built part of their immense fortune on human suffering, and today, they allow cat suffering to continue.
Through their firm JAB Holding Co., they own NVA, the largest U.S. network of vet hospitals—over 1,400 clinics—many of which still perform declawing, a cruel amputation procedure their own Medical Board has called “inhumane.”
The cruelty didn’t stop with history. It just changed form.
Unnecessary and Inhumane: Majority of Ohio Vet Clinics Still Perform Declawing Despite Clear Evidence of Harm

Ohio — A statewide investigative declawing survey of 100 randomly selected veterinary clinics reveals a deeply troubling picture of the welfare of cats in Ohio, where this inhumane, mutilating, and cruel amputation procedure remains routine in many communities.
Declawing is the amputation of the last bone of every cat’s toe and it has been condemned by leading veterinary organizations and animal welfare organizations and outlawed in six U.S. states, restricted in dozens of cities, banned in eight of nine Canadian provinces, and prohibited in more than 40 countries. Decades of studies link the procedure to lifelong chronic pain, arthritis, mobility issues, and behavioral problems that often lead to cats being surrendered to shelters or euthanized.
Yet in Ohio, the practice remains widespread.
This survey found that approximately 80% of these clinics still declaw cats, with some openly advertising the procedure online and other even performing four-paw declaws.
AVMA’s Credibility in Crisis: Leaders With Financial Ties to Declawing Shape Policy, Prompting Calls to Rename It the “American Veterinary Money Association”

Story published on October 21, 2025. (Petition to the AVMA. AVMA Petition Update January 2026. In a sharp January 2026 Letter to the Editor in the Journal of Small Animal Practice, experts from the World Small Animal Veterinary Association Pain Committee condemn the American Veterinary Medical Association’s (AVMA) House of Delegates for refusing to […]
Feline History Made On Oct. 13, 2025: ASPCA Dumps Dangerous Declaw-Death Defense Held Since 2016

October 13, 2025: A seismic shift in feline advocacy! History made as the ASPCA finally removes the debunked and dangerous “declaw-or-death” myth from its declawing position statement, striking a major blow against this cruel procedure and paving the way for stronger bans nationwide!
Does Subaru Love ALL Pets or Just Dogs: $41M to ASPCA & Stays Silent On Cat Declawing Cruelty

“If Subaru insists on looking the other way while enabling this cruelty, it should stop pretending,” City the Kitty said. “Call it what it is: *‘Subaru Loves Dogs.’* Because clearly, Subaru has shown it does not love cats.”
AAHA’s Ethical Collapse: Knows Declawing Is Wrong but Delays Ban for Member Support, Prioritizing Profits

LAKEWOOD, Colo. (Sept. 29, 2025) — The American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA), claims to be the gold standard in veterinary excellence, is under fire for refusing to ban the cruel and outdated practice of cat declawing—unless its member hospitals and veterinarians, many of which still perform and profit from the procedure, support the ban. […]