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Paws Off Claws: Bergen County Rescuers Favor Cat Declawing Ban

New Jersey could be the first state making it illegal to declaw cats and Bergen County animal rescue workers are hoping the measure moves out of the Senate sooner than later.

Keep your paws off my claws. New Jersey is poised to be the first state to pass a ban on declawing cats.

Keep your paws off my claws. New Jersey is poised to be the first state to pass a ban on declawing cats.

Photo Credit: Cindy Capitani

The bill passed the Assembly last month 42-10. 

Most animal rescue people are going to praise the bill, said Val Buchtmann, vice president of Closter Animal Welfare Society.

Megan Boyle, executive director of the Rampo Bergen Animal Refuge, Inc., said they are behind the bill and have asked their supporters to contact their representatives to get the bill out of the Senate.

"It provides education and standards in care and it’s line with international practices. There are a lot of misconceptions about what it means to declaw cats. People think it’s just removing the nail when it's an amputation," said Boyle. 

Cat declawing is banned in the United Kingdom and several other countries, she said.

She added that people can call their representatives to push senators to get the bill on their radar.

“Declawing is a barbaric practice that more often than not is done for the sake of convenience rather than necessity,” Rep. Troy Singleton (D-Burlington), the bill’s sponsor, said in a statement. 

State Sen. Paul Sarl (D-Wood-Ridge) said he doesn't know when the bill will move out of the Senate. 

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