Revision: Dec. 6, 2022, 8:34 a.m.
2023 SESSION
23-0384.0
08/05
HOUSE BILL [bill number]
AN ACT prohibiting the removal of claws from cats.
SPONSORS: [sponsors]
COMMITTEE: [committee]
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ANALYSIS
This bill creates a criminal penalty for declawing a cat.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
23-0384.0
08/05
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty Three
AN ACT prohibiting the removal of claws from cats.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 New Section; Removal of Claws from Cats. Amend RSA 644 by inserting after section 8-g the following new section:
644:8-h Removal of Claws from Cats Prohibited.
I. No person shall remove the claws of a cat by performing an onychectomy, partial or complete phalangectomy, or a tendonectomy, by any means, on a cat except when necessary in order to address the physical medical condition of the cat, such as an existing or recurring illness, infection, disease, injury, or abnormal condition in the claw that compromises the cat's health. No person shall remove the claws of a cat for cosmetic or aesthetic reasons or for reasons of convenience in keeping or handling the cat.
II. Any person who violates this section shall be guilty of a class B misdemeanor.
2 Effective Date. This act shall take effect January 1, 2024.