The Humane Herald: An interview with Dr. Conrad

By the Paw Project
— October 31, 2021 —

In October 2017, Paw Project Founder Dr. Jennifer Conrad was interviewed by Genevieve Cottraux for The Humane Herald, a blog website “where science and ethics intersect with politics.” Noting that the United States IS NOT among the 21 countries where declawing is illegal, Ms. Cottraux sat down for a Q&A to discuss the mission of The Paw Project and opposition to her efforts, primarily from veterinarians and veterinary organizations. Dr. Conrad explained that surgical declawing, known as onychectomy or “de-knuckling,” is one of several procedures that produce the same result: amputation of the last bone in each of the digits of a cat’s paws. Dr. Conrad decries the use of all declawing procedures, as do many other veterinarians, because it can result in pain, suffering and debilitating adverse health effects that are permanent. Declawing provides no benefit whatsoever to the cat, and cat owners are often misled about the potential for downside consequences. However, some veterinarians rationalize performing this lucrative service offering, which represents a $1 billion industry and involves 14.4 million cats per year in the United States.

The interview is still timely, so we thought our readers who missed it when it was first published, might find it a worthwhile read, visit: The Humane Herald.