Cat's claws

Cats’ claws, junk mail and downtown revitalization are the main items on tonight’s city council agenda.

Councilmembers Jesse Arreguín and Susan Wengraf are proposing an ordinance to ban animal declawing in Berkeley, except for therapeutic purposes.  Their submission states:

Declawing and tendonectomy are elective procedures which cat owners request and veterinarians advocate primarily to prevent damage to property or minor personal injury. Reasonable and humane alternatives exist, including nail trimming, scratching implements such as carpeted posts and boxes, temporary soft nail caps, behavioral training for the cat, deterrent sprays, and such simple measures as covering furniture or limiting an animal’s access to certain areas of the home.
Declawing is illegal in 25 nations, including the United Kingdom, France, Australia, Austria, Switzerland, Sweden, Brazil, Norway and Germany. Yet in the Unites States, an estimated 25% of cats are declawed. West Hollywood has a ban on declawing while San Francisco, Santa Monica, and other cities are currently considering a similar ban.

Declawing and tendonectomy are elective procedures which cat owners request and veterinarians advocate primarily to prevent damage to property or minor personal injury. Reasonable and humane alternatives exist, including nail trimming, scratching implements such as carpeted posts and boxes, temporary soft nail caps, behavioral training for the cat, deterrent sprays, and such simple measures as covering furniture or limiting an animal’s access to certain areas of the home.

Declawing is illegal in 25 nations, including the United Kingdom, France, Australia, Austria, Switzerland, Sweden, Brazil, Norway and Germany. Yet in the Unites States, an estimated 25% of cats are declawed. West Hollywood has a ban on declawing while San Francisco, Santa Monica, and other cities are currently considering a similar ban.

Councilmembers Gordon Wozniak and Laurie Capitelli have proposed a resolution urging the state to adopt a Do Not Mail registry to stop junk mail from being delivered to residences.

The running saga of downtown improvement is on the agenda again as well. As well as approving the 2010 report of the Downtown Business Improvement District, the council will vote to provide $425,000 in funds for downtown revitalization next year.

The council meeting will be streamed live from 7 pm.

Photo by Flawka from Flickr

Lance Knobel (Berkeleyside co-founder) has been a journalist for nearly 40 years. Much of his career was in business journalism. He was editor-in-chief of both Management Today, the leading business magazine...