Tacoma becomes first WA city to ban nontherapeutic cat declawing–
December 5, 2023 –
The Tacoma City Council voted December 5, 2023 to ban cat declawing.The move will make Tacoma the first city in Washington to outlaw the procedure. Leading up to the vote, Councilmember John Hines said the time was right to “choose cats, not couches,” referring to cat owners who have their pets declawed in order to protect their furniture from being scratched.
Paw Project Director-Washington Dr. Craig Tebeau spoke passionately in nfavor of the ordinance.
Paw Project Director and Founder Dr. Jennifer Conrad said, “We are grateful to Councilmember Hines and his colleagues for acknowledging declawing as an inhumane procedure that has no place in modern society.”