Saskatchewan vet loses appeal of cat declawing decision

A veterinarian who works at Lakeland Veterinary Hospital in North Battleford was not successful in appealing a decision by the Saskatchewan Veterinary Medical Association (SVMA) that bans cosmetic declawing of cats.

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Dr. Shawn Haas was not happy with the 2021 change to the SVMAs bylaws — done during an annual general meeting — that bans members from performing the procedure called an onychectomy.

Declawing removes the third bone and nail of a cat’s paw. According to the American Association of Feline Practitioners, risks of declawing cats include acute pain, nerve trauma and long-term complications like lameness, chronic neuropathic pain and behavioural problems.

Haas disputed the change using the fact that he was informed of the AGM by email rather than traditional post. In 2022, King’s Bench judge John Morrall dismissed Haas’ application to quash all the decisions and resolutions passed at the 2021 AGM.

Now, the Court of Appeal has affirmed that decision.

During the meeting, SVMA members voted 51-7 in favour of banishing declawing with one abstention. It had been banned in seven other provinces before that.

Because he did not attend the meeting, Haas learned about the change in policy afterwards.

He told Morrall in the first hearing that he did not see the email announcing the AGM or sharing the agenda.

If he had, he said he would have prepared materials and attended the meeting to present them.

The appeal court justices concluded that had the notice been for the purpose of a legal proceeding such as professional discipline, it would have been insufficient but given that it was meeting, there was enough notice.

— with files from CKOM News

Read more:

• Tips to keep your pets safe during a cold Saskatchewan winter
• Meet the therapy dog bringing comfort at Saskatoon vaccine clinics