MN House committee discusses banning practice of declawing cats

ST. PAUL — Cat owners in Minnesota may want to invest in scratching posts if a bill currently going through the state house of representatives makes it into law.

HF 1857 would outlaw the declawing of cats in the state.

If passed, anyone performing a declawing operation, sometimes known as an onychectomy or tendonectomy, would be subject to a fine of five hundred dollars for the first offense, one thousand for the second, and twenty-five hundred dollars for any further declawing procedures.

The bill does allow declawing in instances where there is a medical reason for the operation.

Several people spoke out in favor of the bill, saying that the practice of declawing is inhumane and has a risk of severe pain to the cat years into the future.

If made into law, Minnesota would join six other states that have declawing bans.

“We have veterinarian students who re graduating not knowing about this procedure, and feeling very negatively about the procedure,” said Rep. Andy Smith – one of the authors of the bill. “We’ve talked with some of them that now work at clinics that offer this and feel incredibly, morally dubious, to say the lease, about this and are struggling with burnout just because of things like this being allowable.”

A motion to move the bill forward to the house judiciary committee failed to pass, getting a tied vote.