May 15, 2023 –
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz has signed a bill which creates Section 5048.114 in the Minnesota Statues, which prohibits landlords from requiring that tenants declaw or devocalize their animals as a condition of tenancy. The law will go into effect on January 1, 2024 and is patterned after the Paw Project-sponsored bill passed in California in 2012.
“The equivalent in humans is cutting off your fingers at the last knuckle,” said Rep. María Isa Pérez-Vega (DFL-St. Paul), the bill sponsor. “I’m with you. Declawing and devocalizing is a stupid idea,” said Rep. Jim Nash (R-Waconia)./p>
Paw Project Director and Founder Dr. Jennifer Conrad said, “We were happy to discuss the bill language and strategy with Senator Scott Dibble (the primary author of the bill) and are grateful to his colleagues in both houses for passing this important animal protection bill.” Similar laws exist in California, Rhode Island, and Delaware.