Description
The Paw Project educates the public about why declawing is inhumane. Many people, including animal lovers, do not realize that declawing is a surgical procedure in which the animal's toes are amputated at the last joint. A portion of the bone, not just the nail, is removed. Declawing may result in permanent lameness, arthritis, and other long-term complications. The practice, although common in the United States, is actually illegal in many countries. Great Britain's Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons goes so far as to declare declawing "unnecessary mutilation."
In a misguided attempt to keep big cats such as lions and tigers, as pets, their owners have the animals declawed as cubs, believing that they will be protected against injury. Later, when the cats prove to be poor pets, weighing hundreds of pounds and eating 20 pounds of meat a day, they are often neglected, confiscated by animal regulatory officials, or abandoned. They often end up in animal compounds or sanctuaries.
The Paw Project actively advocates campaigns to legally ban declawing at the community and state level.
The Paw Project facilitates reparative surgery for cats that have been declawed. Big Cats have benefited from paw repair surgery performed by veterinarians working with The Paw Project.
