A special meeting has been called in the spring by the New Brunswick Veterinary Medical Association.
They will vote on whether vets should stop performing declawing surgeries.
Executive Director Dr. George Whittle says many Veterinarians have already stopped offering the procedure at their clinics, “From my perspective and talking to others, the number of procedures has drastically declined. I would say there are several practices in New Brunswick that just don’t do it.”
It is believed by many animal doctors that declawing and can cause short and long term pain for the cat. “It is believed to be a cosmetic surgery that is uneccessary,” Dr. Whittle says.
Dr. Whittle says it’s not know whether or not there would be repercussions from this by-law, “It’s an unknown concern, if this by-law is passed if it will lead to an increase in either abandoned cats or cats being surrendered by owners who don’t want their cats to scratch furniture, or are in fear of their animal scratching them.”
If passed, New Brunswick will join several other provinces to also stop the procedure, including Nova Scotia and Alberta.
Dr. Whittle says if it is passed to stop the procedure, there will likely be a grace period, “Probably up to six months to allow appointments that are already booked to allow veterinarians to educate their clients on different methods to avoid the scratching and damage,”
There are around 220 Veterinarians in the province, but Dr. Whittle couldn’t say exactly how many would be at this special meeting for the vote.
