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removal procedure unless medically necessary, ending what animal welfare advocates have fought against for years as an outdated and inhumane practice that involves amputating the first joint of a cat’s paw.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

A New Lord Of The Rings Movie Is In The Works, Written by Stephen Colbert

March 26, 2026

This is not a drill. Warner Bros. has announced that Stephen Colbert, one of the most famously devoted Tolkien fans on the planet, is developing a brand new Lord of the Rings film alongside his son and screenwriter Peter McGee. The announcement dropped in a video that opened with director

Read More
Happy News

A Teen Just Solved A Huge Microplastic Problem

March 26, 2026

Mia Heller is 18 years old, lives in Warrington, Virginia, and has invented a water filter that removes 96 percent of microplastics from drinking water using a magnetic oil and a clever self-recycling system she built herself in her garage and kitchen. The idea started when her local newspaper reported

Read More
Happy News

Science Just Explained Why Music Makes You Feel Closer To People

March 26, 2026

Most people feel it but cannot fully explain it: the way a song playing in a room seems to pull people closer together, the way a shared playlist can make strangers feel briefly like they know each other. A new study from Yale School of Medicine has now provided one

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 © 2026 HappyNews.