An AKC breeder had Stella's vocal cords cut to suppress her voice.
On February 14, the Warwick (RI) City Council will vote on whether to approve an ordinance that, incredibly, allows vocal cord surgery cruelly used to stifle a dog’s or cat’s voice. Massachusetts recently passed a statewide ban on canine/feline vocal cord surgery unless medically necessary--the only ethical reason for this procedure. However, the Warwick ordinance is cleverly worded to permit devocalization for any reason: All the animal's owner has to do is claim it is a "last resort" for so-called “excessive” barking or meowing.
The Massachusetts Legislature rejected the behavioral exemption because it creates an obviously unenforceable, sham law that will hurt animals.
The Massachusetts Legislature rejected the behavioral exemption because it creates an obviously unenforceable, sham law that will hurt animals.
Because breeders who devocalize for their selfish best interest—when they or neighbors don’t tolerate the sound of their animals—lobbied the City Council to keep this cruel practice available. Now it’s time for people who care about animals as companions, not profit centers, to step up and protect them.
Act Now to Prevent Government-Sanctioned Animal Cruelty.
Just five minutes of your time will protect dogs and cats
from a lifetime of suffering...or premature, horrific death.
CONTACT:
Call (for the biggest impact) and/or email (important for the public record) these two key Council members. Put "Reject Behavioral Exemption" in the subject line. Keep it brief, and always be polite!
Warwick City Council President Bruce Place, 401-467-8734, bruce.s.place@warwickri.com
Councilman Joseph Solomon, 401-739-2291, joseph.j.solomon@warwickri.com
Copy the Council Liaison on emails: joanne.m.cournoyer@warwickri.
Have a few more minutes? Also call and/or email as many other Council members as possible:http://www.warwickri.gov/
The behavioral exemption makes the law unenforceable--and must be removed. It's obvious: No vet can know whether a client has pursued all humane options for managing behavior, and some won't ask. Even receipts for training don't mean the client followed the protocol, which requires time, effort and consistency. Vocal cord surgery is easier for everyone except the dog or cat, who is helpless to refuse it.
Devocalization must be prohibited with only one exception: medical necessity, to treat disease, injury or birth defects that are causing the animal physical harm.
Vocal cord surgery performed specifically to suppress the voice is an act of cruelty that responsible governments should not condone—but Warwick will if it passes an ordinance allowing devocalization as a so-called “last resort” for behavior.
Devocalization is profitable for the vet, easy for the client, which may discourage humane, nonsurgical means for preventing and resolving problem behaviors: responsible selection, housing, training and care of animals. Some breeds are prone to frequent vocalization; they and groups of animals shouldn’t be placed where noise is not tolerated. Others bark or meow persistently because they’re bored, lonely, distressed—or the owner inadvertently taught and reinforced the behavior. Should the animal be punished with risky, needless surgery for that?
Devocalization does NOT ensure animals a home. It subjects them to pain, stress and serious risks and complications--from a lifetime of gagging and difficulty breathing to horrific death--without benefit. Devocalized animals are given up for the same reasons as any other, such as when they're not useful for breeding or exhibition.
LEARN ABOUT DEVOCALIZATION:
Meet devocalized dogs:
Coalition to Protect and Rescue Pets
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