Veterinary Organizations Who Protect Cats From Torture & Mutilation (Declawing) And Those Who Allow It.
VCA Canada.
VCA Canada’s Medical Director Dr. Daniel Joffe announced on May 17, 2018 that they banned declawing. They were the first organization to ban declawing.
“Declaws have become quite a common thing and, in fact, people think of them as just a common procedure. And my veterinary generation created that problem,” said Dr. Joffe, “We got very proficient at doing the procedure, especially as better pain medications and anesthetic protocols came along. We thought we could do it safely and fairly painlessly. What we’ve learned is that, not only is that wrong, it’s inhumane.”
VCA Canada banned declawing on May 17, 2018.
VCA America. – Comment from VCA when they banned declawing in Feb. 2020, “At the core is our firm belief that we must always do the right thing for our patients and we can no longer support declaw procedures in cats unless there is a medical reason to perform the procedure. Examples include neoplasia, infection, and trauma.
Our doctors have been given the freedom on how they practice medicine, as long as what is being done falls into a range of accepted standards of care. We no longer feel that elective declawing of cats is a best practice and we must be cognizant of the negative effects declawing can have on cats.”
VCA America banned declawing in Feb. 2020.
Banfield- Comment from Banfield when they banned declawing in Jan. 2020. “Every medical procedure supported by our practice has been put in place with the health and wellness of pets in mind and, based on this, we do not support the elective declawing.”
Banfield banned declawing in Jan. 2020.
American Association of Feline Practitioners (AAFP) – Comment from AAFP when they banned declawing in Dec. 2020, “As we continue to amplify our mission to support high standards of practice, continuing education, and evidence based medicine, we are proud to announce the end of elective declawing procedures in our Cat Friendly Practices®.
Guided by evidence-based information and the pursuit of leading the feline veterinary community, it is the AAFP’s mission to improve the health and welfare of cats. We need to set the standard.
This decision reflects our commitment to cats and we are grateful to be able to take this step towards improving feline welfare. Now is the time. Let’s end this unnecessary elective procedure, educate the public about the negative effects of declawing, defend the welfare of domestic cats, and stand proud as veterinary professionals.”
AAFP banned declawing in Dec. 2020.
Mission Veterinary Partners- (Email from John Talmadge, Chief Veterinary Officer of MVP to City the Kitty’s Exec. Director/President, Lori Shepler in March 2021.)
“We spent time reviewing the case, your website, published medical research, and the positions of leading medical organizations and associations. For the sake of clarity and transparency, MVP has not mandated medical protocols in the past. We support and empower our clinic medical teams to meet or exceed standard medical practices. While we have never mandated any medical protocols, we believe that in this instance it is shortsighted and we feel compelled to take a stance in order to ensure that we abide by one of our core values: to do the right thing.”
MVP banned declawing in March 2021.
Fear Free Pets (Founder/Owner Dr Marty Becker) – They say they are an education company and provide a course for their members about why they should not declaw as well as alternatives to declawing.
In MAY of 2021, Dr Marty Becker and FEAR FREE PETS announced that they would be banning declawing in all their practices on Dec. 31, 2021.
Here’s the note they sent out.
“Dear colleagues and fellow Fear Free practitioners,
As veterinarians, we started out believing in, and doing things, that we were taught in veterinary school or were shown once we started practicing. At the time, nobody questioned the professor or the practice owner. You do as you’re told. You performed what the client wanted for their pet…almost without question. They wanted their Doberman’s ears cropped. Done. A healthy dog euthanized (what was called convenience euthanasia)? Done. A kitten declawed because she was scratching the couch? Done. No questions asked, just service performed, and dollars received. The pet had no voice.
We were also taught animals didn’t feel pain like humans, nor did they have emotions, so we didn’t use analgesics. We used “bruticaine” and pile-o’-tech restraint rather than anxiolytics and Gentle Control. Again, the pet had no voice.
For those of us who’ve traveled widely, the world looks to the USA for many, if not most, of the major scientific advancements in veterinary medicine. Whereas we may lead the world in the technical part of medicine, we trailed behind when it came to the soul part. Other countries led the way to routinely using analgesics before, during, and after painful procedures. Other nations banned cosmetic surgeries and leaving dogs tied up on chains without exercise. The pet (who was always talking; we just didn’t listen) started to have a voice.
It’s rare to find a veterinarian in America today that does ear crops, tail docks, convenience euthanasia, and declaws. Thankfully, we are starting to catch up with the rest of the world in refusing to do procedures that cause unnecessary and permanent harm to pets just because the pet parent requests it. Declawing is one such procedure that needs to be stopped, not in most cases but in all cases where it isn’t medically necessary.
In times where the emotional wellbeing of pets has become ever more important, Fear Free has made the decision to align with key industry leaders and organizations and phase out the practice of feline declawing in Fear Free Certified Practices. Given the negative impact this procedure has on our feline companions, many of which are linked to a decline in emotional wellbeing, it is only appropriate that Fear Free and its certified practices commit to eliminating feline declawing as an elective procedure. We’re giving cats a voice.
In order to best support you with the phase out, we are pleased to share with you, before anyone else in the Fear Free community, that Fear Free has partnered with Dr. Jennifer Conrad, the founder and director of The Paw Project, to end the practice of feline declawing by Fear Free Certified Practices and introduce paw repair surgeries as a meaningful alternative. We sincerely hope you are as enthusiastic as we are about elevating the standards of veterinary care Fear Free Certified Practices provide.
For some of you, your reaction will be: “Wait, wasn’t that always the case?” For others: ‘‘Well, it’s about time.” And there are those of you whose initial reaction may be: “This is a deal breaker.” Whatever camp you fall in, know that Fear Free is committed to supporting you in successfully navigating this change. We are working on a comprehensive list of resources, including webinars, handouts, and FAQs, that will support both your teams and your clients with all the necessary information.
We realize that this might be a significant change for some of you and therefore want to allow for a reasonable amount of time to fully initiate that change in your practice. Here is the timeline of the phase-out:
Starting September 1, 2021:
• Practices applying for Fear Free Certified Practice status shall not provide declaw services. The Fear Free Certified Practice standards and supporting materials will be updated to reflect this change.
Starting December 31, 2021:
• All existing Fear Free Certified practices will cease providing declaw services.
Join us Thursday, May 27, 2021, at 8 p.m. Eastern Time for a virtual town hall, where we have assembled a panel of experts to expand upon how we came to this decision, answer your questions, and gather your feedback. This is just one of many resources we will be providing for you. We look forward to seeing you then.
Sincerely,
Dr. Marty Becker, Founder & CEO of Fear Free
Dr. Rachel Abrams, CTC, SA Pro Trainer, Fear Free Practice Certification Manager”
Story about Fear Free Practices and declawing. Fear Free and declawing
The following veterinary organizations ALLOW declawing in their vet practices.
The American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA)- AAHA emailed us in July 2021 and said, “We strive to uphold standards of veterinary excellence, but we do not instruct veterinarians how to practice medicine.”
THAT’S A BIG LIE!
In 2013 AAHA told their veterinarians that they cannot perform nonanesthetic or anesthesia-free dentals because it is unacceptable and below the standard of care. AAHA also said nonanesthesia dentals are not appropriate because of patient stress and injury. Banning nonanesthetic dentals didn’t take any income from their vets, and in fact brought them revenue since now their AAHA hospitals will be performing these dentals with anesthesia.
Also one of AAHA’s MANDATORY STANDARDS is, “Practice team members demonstrate humane care of animals.” DOES AAHA BELIEVE DECLAWING IS HUMANE CARE OF CATS?
AAHA has 900 Standards of Care on 49 pages and they tell their veterinarians how to practice medicine in many of their MANDATORY STANDARDS or else they can’t be an AAHA Accredited Animal Hospital.
AAHA and declawing story. AAHA story
AAHA Petition- AAHA Petition
Email- [email protected]
Does AAHA think that declawing is humane, the standard of care, and doesn’t cause stress and injury to a cat?
National Veterinary Associates- 1000 plus vet practices. – Silence. They are ignoring all of us.
Their CEO, Greg Hartmann says this on his bio, “We’re here to support our caregivers with resources, tools and programs that help grow their business, so they can focus on what matters most: the health and well-being of animals.”
NVA Petition- NVA Petition
NVA and declawing story. NVA and declawing story
Email- Public relations person- [email protected]
Reimann Family in Germany own NVA- [email protected]
NVA’s Facebook page. NVA’s Facebook page
VetCor- 427 vet practices. Silence. They are ignoring all of us.
VetCor says on their website, “All of our practices have a shared goal of providing excellence care and service to both their patients and clients.”
Story about VetCor and declawing. VetCor and Declawing
Petition- VetCor Petition
Email- [email protected]
Vetcor facebook page. VetCor Facebook page
PetVet Care Centers- 330 vet practices. Silence. They are ignoring all of us.
Story about PetVet and declawing. PetVet Care Centers and Declawing
Petition – PetVet Petition
The only contact email that we can find for PetVet is this. https://www.petvetcarecenters.com/site/inquiries-pet-vet-care-centers
Rarebreed Veterinary Partners.
800 employees and 33 practices. Email- [email protected]
They say on their Facebook page, “Rarebreed Veterinary Partners was founded with a single mission: To re-imagine the veterinary experience. Our mission: To provide exceptional patient care, outstanding client service and a kick-ass work experience.”
Email- [email protected]
American Veterinary Group
Here’s our story about American Veterinary Group and declawing. AVG and declawing
American Veterinary Group Petition
American Veterinary Group was founded by veterinarians in 2015 and they own & operate over 50 veterinary practices throughout the Southern United States. American Veterinary Group says that they pursue partnerships with veterinary professionals who share their dedication to clinical excellence.
Public relations person. Lauren Fielder. Email- [email protected]
AVG Facebook page. American Veterinary Group Facebook page
NAVE Veterinary Group, Las Vegas, NV.
The bill to ban declawing, AB209, was introduced in Nevada in March 2021 by Assemblywoman Susie Martinez (D-Las Vegas). ada Anti-declawing Bill
The only organization that was opposed to the bill was the Nevada Veterinary Medical Association (NVMA). The NVMA’s loyal lobbyist, Alisa Nave Worth, submitted the NVMA’s letter of opposition to this bill.
Here’s our story about how the anti-declawing bill in NV was stopped and how many NAVE clinics declaw cats. How the NV cat protection bill was stopped
NAVE Veterinary Group Petition
NAVE email- [email protected]