Berry raised animals for slaughter. Steinem believed “Animals are not ours to eat, wear, experiment on, or use for entertainment.” Neither Wendell Berry and Gloria Steinem, each deceased at 92, on August 31, 2026 and September 2, 2026, respectively, were known primarily––or perhaps even at all––for their considerable influence on the late 20th century rise […]
California bans declawing cats without seceding from the United States
42 nations have now banned declawing cats, & nine of the ten Canadian provinces, but only four U.S. states SACRAMENTO, California––California governor Gavin Newsom on October 9, 2025 endorsed into law AB 867 by state assembly member Alex Lee, a Democrat from Milpitas, “which bans the practice of declawing cats when not medically necessary,” […]
New York bans declawing cats; Massachusetts next?
2015 “Favorite Vet” contest outcome tipped balance toward declaw bans across North America ALBANY, New York––Governor Andrew Cuomo on July 22, 2019 signed into law Assembly Bill A-1303, making New York the first U.S. state to ban declawing cats. There are about 4.2 million cats in New York state, about half of them in […]
Animal rescue amid wildfires at either end of California
Record 2018 fire season isn’t over yet PARADISE, MALIBU, California––Some good news for animals, habitat, and ultimately humans may yet emerge from the firestorms simultaneously razing the Sierra Nevada foothills city of Paradise and parts of the far distant coastal city of Malibu––if the already record-setting 2018 California wildfire season gives an anticipated boost […]
All cats want for Christmas are their two front paws (and hind paws too, intact)
Nova Scotia and Denver ban declawing FREDERICTON, Nova Scotia; DENVER, Colorado––Christmas came early in 2017 for cats in Nova Scotia province, Canada, and in Denver, Colorado. Both jurisdictions recently banned elective and non-therapeutic declawing surgery, but through starkly different legal approaches. Nova Scotia vets make declawing “unethical” The Nova Scotia declawing ban was adopted, […]
Did AVMF bag “America’s Favorite Vet” contest to keep anti-declaw vet from winning?
Sore toes & veterinary tradition SCHAUMBURG, Illinois––Did the American Veterinary Medical Foundation “take their Frisbee and go home,” as Paw Project founder Jennifer Conrad, DVM, suggested to ANIMALS 24-7, because Gary Richter, DVM, an outspoken opponent of declawing cats, was about to be elected “America’s Favorite Veterinarian”? Blaming opponents of cat declawing, the American Veterinary […]
Against declawing: The Paw Project video
The Paw Project Inc. (POB 445, Santa Monica, CA 90406), 2012. 60 minutes. Available in multiple formats. $10.00 donation requested. Available c/o: http://www.pawprojectmovie.com/ Reviewed by Debra J. White The Paw Project video opens with mobile veterinarian Jennifer Conrad treating de-clawed captive wild cats such as pumas and tigers in southern California sanctuaries. The big cats’ […]