West Hollywood outlaws declawing

West Hollywood, Calif.-West Hollywood's City Council recently voted to ban declawing in the city, and it now ranks as the first city in the United States to take such an action.

Dr. Dick Schumacher, executive director of the California VeterinaryMedical Association (CVMA) fears spillover on a similar state measure todo the same.

"All we can do is lobby to defeat it. We're pulling out all thestops." He adds that the association is very much opposed to the measurein West Hollywood and the state legislature.

"We are very aware of the politics, and we know where our effortsneed to be placed," he says.

West Hollywood, surrounded by Beverly Hills and Los Angeles, has threeveterinary clinics in its city limits.

State bill, A.B. 395, is reportedly held up in the state's agriculturecommittee.