(MY) on defanging

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*2008/07/30

* CRUELTY TO ANIMALS: Enough of this mutilation - New Straits TimesBy :

S.M. MOHD IDRIS President, Sahabat Alam Malaysia <letters

 

<http://nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Wednesday/Letters/2306462/Article/pppull_ind\

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SAHABAT Alam Malaysia has received information of an increasingly common

trend in zoos, theme parks and resorts, where the claws on the front limbs

of tigers are removed.

Big cats kept as pets in the menageries of the privileged few have had

their canine teeth removed as well.

 

Big cats are often declawed and sometimes defanged so that these animals can

be trained to be used in photography sessions.

 

Many people think declawed tigers are significantly less dangerous, yet that

is not always the case. A declawed and defanged tiger is perfectly capable

of killing a person with a bite to the head or neck, and of knocking a

person down violently enough to cause multiple fractures.

 

Declawing big cats is illegal in many countries. For example, it has been

prohibited in the United States since 2006.

The American Veterinary Medical Association adopted a position opposing the

declawing of wild cats in 2004 based on the fact that these cats commonly

experienced adverse effects from the surgery resulting in chronic health

problems. Some may suffer trauma and complications during surgery,

eventually being left crippled.

 

The US Animal Welfare Act and the regulations of its Department of

Agriculture have declared that the amputation of the claw-forming bone of an

animal's foot cannot be performed with the intent of making the animal

easier to handle. Thus defanging and declawing have been banned.

 

Depriving big cats of their teeth subjects these animals, already under

stress of being in captivation, to the difficulties of eating and chewing

food.

 

The declawing of big cats for human entertainment and exhibition purposes is

an extremely cruel act. Britain's Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons has

gone so far as to define declawing as " unnecessary mutilation " .

 

Malaysia's Wildlife Department should ban individuals and wildlife

facilities from declawing and removing the canine teeth of all big cats and

captive wild animals, including monkeys, chimpanzees and other primates,

unless the procedure is prescribed by a veterinarian for medical and

scientific reasons.

 

Environmental enrichment and behavioural modification should be the

alternative to minimise attacks and bites.

 

The Wildlife Department should conduct investigations into the activities of

theme parks, resorts and zoos, as well as private individuals keeping

wildlife as pets.

 

Proper enforcement of Section 92 of the Cruelty to Wildlife Act 1976, which

concerns the mutilation of big cats and other wildlife, is necessary.