No more declawing of cats, N.L. College of Veterinarians decides

Veterinarians licensed in Newfoundland and Labrador will no longer perform declawing surgeries on cats, effective Jan. 1, 2019.

The N.L. College of Veterinarians passed the resolution this week.

The January date will give clinics who still offer the procedure time to inform their staff and clients about the change.

"The decision by the N.L.COV membership supports the national and international trend to discontinue performing such procedures, and our association supports it as well," said Maggie Brown-Bury, president of the N.L. Veterinary Medical Association, in a statement.

The college is partnering with the the Newfoundland and Labrador Veterinary Medical Association to provide education to the public about the change.

In December last year, Nova Scotia decided to ban elective cat declawing procedures, a decision that came into effect in March.

Declawing is already banned in the U.K., Europe, Australia and several cities in California.

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