Three more cities approve declaw bans

California

-- Three more California cities officially have banned declawing, bringing the grand total to six cities making some kind of move against the practice.

Berkeley, Beverly Hills and Los Angeles city councils all cast final votes to ban declawing Nov. 17, joining San Francisco and Santa Monica, which passed similar bans earlier in November. Malibu condemned the practice in a resolution, but did not legally ban the practice.

Burbank City Council also heard arguments for a declaw ban at its Nov. 17 meeting and could have legislation on its agenda by its Nov. 24 meeting. Culver City and Humboldt, Marin and Sonoma counties also have expressed interest in seeking declawing bans, according to The Paw Project, an advocacy group that is pushing to get the bans into effect before a new state law takes effect that will prevent cities from meddling with state-regulated practices.

West Hollywood was the first California city to pass a declaw ban in 2003, spurring a fight between the city and the state veterinary medical association over whether cities could interfere with state-licensed professions. A new state law was signed in July, saying cities can’t pass laws that interfere with veterinary medicine practices allowed by the state, but the new law doesn’t affect laws passed before Jan. 1, 2010.