West Hollywood Press Conference Speech by Dr. Jennifer Conrad, DVM, The Paw Project, 6/26/2007
(http://www.pawproject.org)

"Thank you all for coming to learn about this important issue. For those of you who are unsure why animal advocates are so against declawing, allow me to show you something. Declawing is the amputation of the last bone in an animal's toes. It is the equivalent of taking this cigar cutter and chopping off this much of my finger, on every one of my fingers.

With that in mind, I hope you see why West Hollywood felt compelled to stop animal cruelty within its borders. West Hollywood prides itself on being an animal friendly community, where all animals are protected under the city's compassionate auspices.

In April 2003, the city council voted to enact a ban on declawing, and rightly so. This ban was the first ever to succeed in the US, although declawing is illegal in much of the rest of the world. The West Hollywood city council chose to take this bold step because they knew that declawing, even if it is a routine veterinary procedure, was plain and simply, barbaric.

The veterinarian's oath can be distilled down into one simple idea, above all do no harm. But, declawing is big business and veterinarians can make millions of dollars declawing cats. So, soon after the cat protection ordinance went into effect, the ban was challenged by a veterinary trade association, the CVMA, which disagreed with West Hollywood¹s compassionate stance. They filed a lawsuit in 2005 to overturn this landmark legislation.

The city council bravely fought for and defended their decision to stop anyone from declawing cats. The judges ruled that the CVMA's case had no legal merit.

Welfare for animals has prevailed.

Today we are here to celebrate the fact that West Hollywood has won the right to protect its animals. We are here to call forth other communities, and to say to them, look after your animals, care for them, and don't be afraid to fight for them. The city of West Hollywood has proven that a declawing ban is legally and morally sound. Outlaw this cruel and painful procedure in your city. Inevitably, the nation will follow. Protect your animals from the unnecessary mutilation, euphemistically called declawing. The time has come. No declaw is the new law!

I am so grateful to Mr. John Duran and Mr. Hernan Molina for their perseverance and adamancy to do what is right, and to Ms. Orly Degani for her tireless effort and her legal expertise.

Compassion knows no boundaries. By making our animals' lives better we make our own lives better."

**Reprinted with the expressed written consent of Dr. J Conrad**
**Picture of "Mittens" courtesy of Cat Tales Rescue**