PAWS NEED CLAWS ACT
1. No person, licensed professional or otherwise, shall perform a partial or complete onychectomy (declawing), phalangectomy, or tendonectomy procedure by any means on a cat in the Southern Region, except when necessary for a therapeutic purpose.
2. For the purposes of this act, the term "therapeutic purpose" means the necessity to address the medical condition of the animal, such as an existing or recurring illness, infection, disease, injury, or abnormal condition in the claw that compromises the animal's health. The term “therapeutic purpose” does not include cosmetic or aesthetic reasons or reasons of convenience in keeping or handling the animal.
3. This act shall take effect thirty (30) days after passage.
