Blue River PetCare, one of the nation’s largest veterinary groups, says it is “a growing community of veterinary practices and dedicated professionals working together to better the lives of the patients we treat.” The company also says it welcomes professionals who share “our commitment to medical excellence” and that "every practice is built on trusted one-on-one relationships and outstanding patient care.” Yet despite those public commitments, Blue River PetCare allows declawing in its hospitals. Blue River also states: “At Blue River, we focus on the health and wellbeing of our clinical team members as much as we do the animals...

On July 11, 2026, at the AVMA convention in Anaheim, CA. the AVMA House of Delegates (HOD) unanimously elected Dr. Robert Knapp as its 2026-27 president-elect and Dr. Elizabeth Boggier as its vice president.  "Yes, they do them all the time, yes." That was the response in September 2025 from an employee at Knapp Veterinary Hospital in Columbus, OH, the vet clinic owned by newly elected AVMA President-Elect Dr. Robert Knapp, when asked whether the clinic's veterinarians perform cat declawing often.  One employee said all their veterinarians—including Dr. Robert Knapp—perform laser declaws, adding they are done "Monday through Friday."  Another...

If declawing is contributing to moral stress for even some veterinary team members within Associated Veterinary Partners, as City the Kitty's survey could suggest, it represents a preventable source of ethical conflict that could be eliminated with a single company-wide policy. For a leader who has urged the veterinary profession to confront the systemic causes of moral injury, the question remains unanswered: Why does Co-founder and COO, Dr Bill Wagner, of Associated Veterinary Partners continue to allow an inhumane amputation procedure that may be creating the very ethical conflict and harm to veterinary professionals that he has spent years warning...

When cats start walking on their balls then we will start believing the NJVMA's spokesvet Dr Yurkus and his animal hospital that declawing isn’t more painful than neutering. Meanwhile, the American Association of Feline Practitioners’ policy on declawing states: “Physically, regardless of the method used, onychectomy causes a higher level of pain than spays and neuters. Patients may experience both adaptive and maladaptive pain; in addition to inflammatory pain, there is the potential to develop long-term neuropathic or central pain if the pain is inadequately managed during the perioperative and healing periods.” [AAFP Policy Statement on Declawing, 2007.]

If Mission Pet Health's CVO, Dr. Dan Markwalder, banned declawing at MVP in 2021, why hasn't he done the same at Mission Pet Health? Is MPH's CEO Dr. Jay Price standing in the way, or was MVP's ban simply a response to the bad publicity surrounding Elijah's horrific laser declaw and not about protecting cats?

Story published June 16, 2026 UPDATE AUGUST 4, 2026. CareVet posted this on their website. “Effective October 1, 2026, CareVet does not perform elective declawing. A declawing procedure may be performed only when a CareVet veterinarian determines that the procedure is medically necessary as part of the diagnosis or treatment of a patient’s medical condition.“ […]

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...

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...

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 […]

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.