Maryland is set to become the second state in the nation to ban cat declawing, a practice many advocates say is cruel and unnecessary.
State House lawmakers on Thursday voted to pass the Prevention of Cat Declawing bill, or HB 22. The bill already passed the Senate and now goes to the governor's desk to either be signed into law or vetoed.
"When people wrap their head around it, the idea that we would mutilate to protect a furniture item is abhorrent to people," Maryland State Del. Lorig Chakoudin, who sponsored the bill in the House, told The Washington Post.
Declawing is a major surgery involving amputation and is not medically necessary for the cat in most cases, according to the American Veterinary Medical Association. Some owners elect to get the procedure to prevent scratching and to make the animal easier to handle.
The Humane Society of the United States said if a declawing procedure was performed on a human being, "it would be like cutting off each finger at the last knuckle."
The bill prohibits any veterinary practitioner from performing the procedure unless it is necessary for "therapeutic purposes." Violators would have their veterinary licenses suspended or revoked, and be fined $5,000 for a first offense and up to $10,000 for repeat offenses, according to the Associated Press. The bill also establishes that no person other than a veterinary practitioner can perform the procedure.
Sen. Cheryl C. Kagan, who sponsored the bill in the Senate, referred to declawing as de-knuckling. She said it leaves the animal in pain and unable to defend itself.
"[Declawing] takes not just the nail, but the nail bed and part of the bone and cuts it off," Kagan told The Post. "What happens is that leaves a cavity there, and that makes it very painful for them to walk, to use their litter box or to just be happy little, little campers."
The Humane Society said the procedure should only be performed in rare cases when it is necessary for medical purposes, such as the removal of cancerous nail bed tumors.
Opponents of the bill said it should be left to veterinarians to decide what's best for their patients, WJW reported.
Declawing is banned in many parts of the world and also in several cities across the country, including Los Angeles, Pittsburgh, San Francisco and Denver, The Post reported. New York was the first state to ban declawing in 2019.
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