Skip to content
  • Happy Health
  • Happy Mindset
  • Animal Wonders
  • About Us
    • Team
  • Subscribe
Menu
  • Happy Health
  • Happy Mindset
  • Animal Wonders
  • About Us
    • Team
  • Subscribe
Happy News

California Just Made This Cat Procedure A Criminal Offense

California has officially made it illegal for veterinarians to declaw cats anywhere in the state after Governor Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 867 into law, joining only four other states in banning the controversial practice. The new legislation prohibits any type of claw removal procedure unless medically necessary, ending what animal welfare advocates have fought against for years as an outdated and inhumane practice that involves amputating the first joint of a cat’s paw. In Defense of Animals, one of the groups that championed the ban, compared declawing to cutting off a human fingertip at the last joint and said it often results in lifelong pain and suffering for cats who undergo the procedure. While the practice was previously legal with veterinarian oversight, the new law allows the California Veterinary Medical Board to deny, revoke, or suspend licenses and assess fines for performing the procedure for anything other than therapeutic purposes.

The ban makes California the largest state to outlaw declawing, joining New York, Maryland, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island, while nearly 40 countries worldwide have already classified the practice as mutilation. Several California cities including Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Beverly Hills had already enacted local bans before the statewide measure took effect. The California Veterinary Medical Association opposed the legislation, arguing that surveys show about 80 percent of veterinarians don’t perform the procedure anyway and calling the ban fundamentally unnecessary government overreach. However, animal welfare advocates celebrated what they’re calling a historic win for compassionate treatment, with Dr. Marilyn Kroplick of In Defense of Animals declaring that declawing has no place in a compassionate society and praising California for prioritizing animal well-being over human convenience.

PrevPreviousShe Rescued 46 Lives Just Days Before Her Wedding
NextYou Won’t Believe What MIT Scientists Just InventedNext

Recent Articles

Happy News

Programmable Plastic That Could End Pollution FOREVER

December 7, 2025

Scientists from Rutgers University have unveiled plastic for packaging that breaks down under everyday conditions at programmed speeds without adding heat or harsh chemicals. Assistant professor Yuwei Gu and his team published their groundbreaking study in Nature Chemistry. They arranged components of the plastic’s chemical structure so they could start

Read More
Happy News

This 1986 Thanksgiving Tradition Is EXPLODING Now

December 7, 2025

Gus the turkey has been spending Thanksgiving week much differently than the 46 million other unlucky gobblers slaughtered across the United States, as he trots through a sprawling animal sanctuary on the Colorado plains where staff stop every few steps to pet him, hug him, or even give him a

Read More
Happy News

You Won’t Believe What Happens When Music Is Played During Surgery

December 7, 2025

Under the harsh lights of an operating theatre in Delhi, India, a woman lies unconscious during gallbladder removal surgery while gentle flute music plays through headphones over her ears, and though she’s under general anesthesia with much of her brain silenced by drugs, her auditory pathway remains partly active in

Read More
« Previous Next »
  • Privacy Notice
  • Accessibility Notice
  • Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information
  • Unsubscribe
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
  • Privacy Notice
  • Accessibility Notice
  • Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information
  • Unsubscribe
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
Copyright © 2025 HappyNews.